BRIEFCASE

Hurricane Harvey: 2017 Law Center Year in Lends a Hand Review

BRIEFCASE 2018 Volume 36 BRIEFCASE Number 1 Hurricane Harvey: 2017 Law Center Year in Review Lends a Hand Please direct correspondence to: Carrie Anna Criado University of Houston Law Center - School Centers, Briefcase Editor University of Houston Institutes and Select Programs Law Center A.A. White Dispute Resolution Institute 4604 Calhoun Road Interim Director, Jim Lawrence ’07 Houston, TX 77204-6060 [email protected] Blakely Advocacy Institute Executive Director, Jim Lawrence ’07 713.743.2184 713.743.2122 (fax) Center for Biotechnology & Law Director, Barbara J. Evans, Alumnae College Professor of Law Assistant Editor Elena Hawthorne Writers John T. Brannen, John T. Kling Center for Children, Law & Policy Photographer Elena Hawthorne Director, Ellen Marrus, Royce Till Professor of Law Design Seleste Bautista, Elena Hawthorne Editorial Assistant Lisa Lane Center for Consumer Law Printing UH Printing Services Director, Richard M. Alderman, Professor Emeritus Center for U.S. and Mexican Law UH Law Center Administration Director, Alfonso López de la Osa Escribano Dean and Professor of Law Leonard M. Baynes Criminal Justice Institute Director, Sandra Guerra Thompson, Alumnae College Professor of Law Associate Dean, HIPLA College Professor of Law Greg Vetter Environment, Energy & Natural Resources Center Associate Dean for Student Affairs Director, Victor B. Flatt, Dwight Olds Chair in Law Sondra R. Tennessee Health Law & Policy Institute Interim Executive Director for Law Alumni Relations Director, Jessica L. Roberts, Associate Professor of Law, George Butler Research Professor of Law Hope Young Co-director, Jessica L. Mantel, Associate Professor of Law Assistant Dean for Admissions Institute for Higher Education Law and Governance Pilar Mensah Director, Michael A. Olivas, William B. Bates Distinguished Chair in Law Assistant Dean for Career Development Tiffany J. Tucker Institute for Intellectual Property & Information Law Co-director, Sapna Kumar, Associate Professor of Law, George Butler Research Professor of Law Assistant Dean for Faculty Development Co-director, Greg R. Vetter, HIPLA College Professor of Law Professor Dave Fagundes Director, Business Operations Texas Innocence Network Mybao Nguyen Founder, David R. Dow, Cullen Professor of Law Director, Cassandra Jeu ’04 Assistant Dean of Communications and Marketing Carrie Anna Criado ’95 Juvenile and Capital Advocacy Project Director of Law Information Technology Founder, Legal Programs Director, David R. Dow, Cullen Professor of Law Tommy Abraham Professor of Practice, Katya Dow 2017-2018 UH Law Alumni Association Board © 2018 University of Houston Law Center Cynthia Mabry ’10 | President All publication rights reserved. The information contained here Fermeen Fazal ’00 | President Elect does not necessarily reflect the opinions of the Law Center and Brad Aiken ’07 | Vice President the University of Houston. Laura Trenaman ’97 | Secretary University of Houston Law Center Directors 4604 Calhoun Road Brian Boyle ’04 Alex Roberts ’06 Houston, TX 77204-6060 Clayton Forswall ’11 Reece Rondon ’95 713.743.2100 Laura Gibson ’84 Judge Ravi K. Sandill ’01 www.law.uh.edu Warren Harris ’88 Kris Thomas ’83 The University of Houston is a Carnegie-designated Tier Nathaniel Martinez ’11 Victor Wright ’98 One public research university and an EEO/AA institution. Marie McGowan ’91 Richard Whiteley ’99 | Ex Officio 2 Briefcase 2018

DEAN’S NOTE

This “Year-In-Review” edition of Briefcase magazine marks a modern and new format. It is meant to remind University of Houston Law Center alumni and friends of the happenings, successes, and challenges of 2017. Hurricane Harvey provided the greatest challenge of the year, and the Law Center community rallied to help those affected by it. Though the building itself survived water intrusion, the storm and its aftermath forced the closure of the school for 10 days. A number of students, faculty and staff fell victim to the flood waters that inundated large parts of the city, county and state.

The magazine highlights some of the relief efforts led by the Law Center in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey and the different ways we pitched in to help our neighbors. It also includes feature stories that occurred throughout the past year that showcase students, alumni, special programs, conferences, and additional community outreach initiatives.

During the summer, another edition of Briefcase will be published with additional features and information about the Law Center and its future direction.

I hope you enjoy this new format, and that reading about all the great things happening at the Law Center will reaffirm your pride in your alma mater and spark your interest in getting more involved.

Dean’s Note 3 Sincerely, Year in Review 4 Hurricane Harvey 24

Brief Mentions 36 Leonard M. Baynes Law Gala 37 Dean and Professor of Law Holiday Coffee 38 Stay Connected 39

law.uh.edu 3 JANUARY 2017 Year in A LOOK BACK Review

UHLC PROF. WILLIS STRESSES MEDIATION and Public Transformation of the Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios GUIDELINES AT UN CONFERENCE IN TBILISI, Superiores de Monterrey, the Centro de Investigación para el Desarrollo A.C. (CIDAC), and the Faculty of Law and Criminology at the GEORGIA Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León. University of Houston Law Center The book is dedicated to former dean and professor Stephen P. Zamora, Professor Tasha Willis spoke in founding director of the Center for U.S. and Mexican Law and one of Tbilisi, Georgia at a United Nations the organizers of the research project. Zamora passed away in July 2016. program designed to reform that eastern European country’s judicial Center for U.S. and Mexican Law Affiliate Scholars who contributed to system, in part, through the increased the book include Dr. José Ramón Cossío Díaz, a justice of the Mexican use of mediation to ensure justice for Supreme Court, and Dr. Alberto Abad Suárez Ávila, professor-researcher all, especially children. at Instituto de Investigaciones Jurídicas de la Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (IIJ-UNAM). Willis, director of the Law Center’s Alternative Dispute Resolution The conclusion to the book was co-authored by Zamora and Tony (ADR) program and a mediation Payan, director of Rice’s Mexico Center. Tasha Willis clinic professor, spoke on the subject: “Regulating Mediation: Importance UHLC COMMUNITY JOINS VOLUNTEER EFFORT TO AID and Necessity of Voluntary Credentialing.” She stressed the importance IMMIGRANTS AFFECTED BY TRAVEL BAN of developing a system in which mediators actively choose to follow a defined set of ethical guidelines as opposed to being government As confusion mounted across the regulated. nation’s airports in the wake of a Jan. 27 order banning immigrants from certain The program, “Enhancing Access to Justice and Development of a Child countries, the director of the University Friendly Justice System in Georgia,” was sponsored jointly by The of Houston Law Center’s Immigration United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the United Nations Clinic, in his individual capacity, former Development Project (UNDP). students, and local attorneys headed to Bush Intercontinental Airport to see if UHLC’S CENTER FOR U.S. AND MEXICAN LAW they could help. PARTNERS WITH RICE’S BAKER INSTITUTE FOR BOOK “We were an impromptu bunch of The University of Houston Law Center’s Geoff Hoffman volunteer lawyers who gathered with Center for U.S. and Mexican Law celebrated the little or no prior discussion to help publishing of a book that examines recent reform families get their loved ones released from Customs and Border of the energy sector in Mexico. Protection after arriving from all over the world,” said Geoffrey A. Hoffman, head of the Immigration Clinic, who worked into the night The book is titled, “Estado de Derecho y Reforma along with Rosemary Vega, a supervising attorney at the clinic. “Some Energética en México,” which translates to “The of the 20 to 25 volunteers were immigration attorneys, but most were Rule of Law and Mexico’s Energy Reform.” The not, their expertise and practice areas ranging from civil rights, criminal project is the culmination of a major research defense and federal courts to commercial litigation, tax and in-house effort to examine rule of law issues arising under counsel.” Mexico’s new energy legislation. International travelers, including those with green cards and valid visas, It was published in collaboration with the Baker Institute’s Mexico were questioned and some detained in the wake of Executive Order Center at Rice University, in association with the School of Government 13769. The order included a 90-day ban on travel to the U.S. by citizens

4 Briefcase 2018 of the predominantly Muslim countries of Iraq, Iran, Libya, Somalia, America’s source of inspiration, power and compassion.” Sudan, Syria and Yemen, and a 120-day suspension of the U.S. refugee Law Center alumni who participated include: Sanajy Bapat ’14, Justen program. The president said the order was necessary to prevent “radical Barks ’13, Megan Daic ’13, Veronica Cruz ’15, Laura De La Cruz ’15, Islamic terrorists” from entering the country. Josh Hilbe ’14, Maha Khalil ’15, Katie Ray ’14, Adam Robertson ’14, Luiz “We answered questions and assured families who were waiting for Ruiz ’14, and Alexandra Vickery ’13. hours that relatives holding valid visas or green cards would be released under a nationwide stay order issued by a federal judge in New York,” UHLC PARTICIPATES IN UNIVERSITY OF HOUSTON’S Hoffman explained. “We stood ready to file habeas corpus petitions in the event family members were not released or detained.” “HERE, WE GO” CAMPAIGN The University of Houston Law Center played a supporting role as the The volunteer attorneys also spoke with customs officials trying to University of Houston unveiled its $1 billion capital campaign, “Here, determine the status of travelers being detained or questioned. We Go: The Campaign for the University of Houston” on Jan. 18. “Since there is no right to counsel generally at the border, attorneys were Associate Dean for Student Affairs Sondra Tennessee spoke at “Launch not permitted to meet with their clients or review answers to questions Talks,” where representatives from all UH colleges, schools and units which may have been asked by immigration officials under the new were represented in one-minute, rapid-fire presentations. Speakers at travel ban program,” Hoffman said. “The frustration was palpable in the the event each answered the question, “What does it mean to launch?” fear, confusion and panic I saw in many of the family members.” with responses based on their respective disciplines. Amid the confusion, strangers provided the volunteers with pizza, “Launch is to bring about positive change,” Tennessee said. “At the UH Starbucks gift cards, and cases of bottled water. Law Center, students have an opportunity to work with real people “There was a feeling of common purpose, doing good for total who have real problems. Whether it’s an immigrant seeking asylum, an strangers, for people in need,” Hoffman said of the volunteer effort. “The inmate proclaiming innocence, or a parent seeking custody, our UH Law experience reminded me to never forget the spirit of our great country, students are at the center of each solution.” its people, its lawyers, and to remember the power of the immigrants,

law.uh.edu 5 FEBRUARY

months after graduation among Texas law schools; increasing diversity and entry-level academic credentials; improving bar passage rate to top three ranking, and ultimately consistently being ranked number one in Texas; increasing reputation and presence both globally and nationally; increasing involvement in the community; encouraging greater alumni financial support; and attaining alumni and state support for a new facility. Baynes explained how students can help attain each of these goals. “We are all in this together,” he said. “We will rise together, and the school will rise along with you.”

EENR CENTER CELEBRATES CAREER OF PROFESSOR WEAVER

Jacqueline L. Weaver

Dean Leonard M. Baynes After a career spanning 39 years, Professor Jacqueline L. Weaver, the UHLC DEAN BAYNES CALLS UPON STUDENTS TO HELP A.A. White Professor of Law, retired from the University of Houston Law Center. ATTAIN FUTURE ‘VISION’ She was honored at a February reception sponsored by the Law Center’s University of Houston Law Center Dean Leonard M. Baynes outlined Environment, Energy & Natural Resources Center, where colleagues, a five-year “Implementation of the Strategic Vision” for the school and family, friends and former students celebrated her decorated career. asked students for their help in achieving the “lofty” goals during a Some guests traveled from across the country for the event, and one “Discussion with the Dean” session. alumnus made a 22-hour trek from Uganda. The plan with its lengthy list of goals is “very aspirational,” the dean said, “It’s a bittersweet moment because Professor Weaver is such a part “but it is important to set goals and figure out ways to get there with of the fabric of the institution of the Law Center,” Dean Leonard M. strategies and action steps. The more you focus, the better your chances Baynes said in his opening remarks. “She has risen to the occasion and of succeeding.” has done an excellent job of being a terrific law faculty member and Backed by a PowerPoint slide presentation, he noted to students, professor who’s known for being one of the premier experts on energy, staff and faculty members that the strategic vision was facilitated by environment and natural resource issues.” Professors Seth Chandler and Michael A. Olivas and developed by Weaver is an internationally sought after scholar who has lectured on committees comprised of faculty, staff and students in 2013 and that its topics of oil and gas law, energy law and policy, international petroleum, implementation was delegated to the dean, faculty committees, and the and environmental and natural resources law. She has lectured on topics University as may be applicable. in international petroleum transactions in Africa (Luanda, Nambia, Objectives include attaining the second highest overall ranking in Texas Uganda), China, Kazakhstan, Portugal and Thailand. and improving Top 10 ranking of specialty programs from the current Weaver graduated from the then-UH Bates College of Law magna cum three to four; attaining the highest percentage of student employment 10 laude in 1975. She began teaching at the school as an adjunct professor

6 Briefcase 2018 in 1977. She also served as associate director of the Energy Studies held days before Super Bowl LI was played at NRG Stadium between the Program at that time. In 1979, Weaver became an assistant professor Atlanta Falcons and New England Patriots. before becoming an associate professor in 1982. She received tenure “The kinds of legal protections we have in place for workers apply with in 1984 and became a full professor in 1986. Weaver was the Law equal force to professional athletes,” said Professor Jessica Roberts, Foundation Professor from 1986-1987. She was also the interim director director of the Health Law & Policy Institute. “We were delighted to give of the Environment, Energy and Natural Resources Center from 2013- the Law Center community the opportunity to hear about these issues 2015. She held the A.A. White Professorship until her retirement. firsthand on the eve of the Super Bowl.” She is a co-author of “The Texas Law of Oil and Gas;” a national Smith provided a broad overview of the NFLPA’s activities and also casebook titled “Energy, Economics and the Environment;” another spoke about player safety, including the NFL’s issues with concussions casebook titled “International Petroleum Transactions;” and the treatise, and violence committed off the field by players. “International Petroleum Exploration & Exploitation Agreements.” Smith noted that while NFL players don’t have typical days at an office Weaver wrote articles on offshore safety after the Macondo disaster, or factory, the gridiron is just as much of a workplace. Enron’s effect on the energy markets, sustainable development in the international petroleum industry, comparative unitization laws, “We have confronted the league over the issue of workplace safety for and traditional oil and gas law. Her excellence in legal education has our players,” Smith said. “While I use the word ‘workplace,’ some would been recognized with awards from the Association of International refer to that as a field or a locker room. But if we are concerned about Petroleum Negotiators, the Rocky Mountain Mineral Law Foundation, the condition of a field and it impacting the career of a player, that’s not the University of Houston’s Teaching Excellence Award, and the Law a football field for me. Center’s Ethel Baker Award. “When those men step onto the field they’re stepping into the world In 2010, Suzanne and Jan Baker, 1973 Law Center alumni and longtime of a workplace. While football is a great game, my hope is that people friends of Weaver and her family, established the Weaver-Lang understand the NFLPA looks at it as big business.” Presidential Endowed Fellowship in Law to honor her, her husband, Smith said the perception of football players being labeled as well-paid, Kirk, and their parents, Cecile Weaver and Harold Weaver and Ruth superhuman specimens can make some fans lose sight of their human Lang and Hans Lang. rights. “This fellowship is meant to recognize the decades of support given to “At the end of the day, 99 percent of the fights we have with the NFL are graduate and professional education by the Weaver and Lang families,” about whether our players are going to be treated as people,” he said. “It Weaver said. “It’s not just me — there are many Weavers and many Langs becomes very easy to say these aren’t football players, they’re gladiators. who were involved in higher education and have been over the years, Well, they’re not. I get a little cross when our own players refer to especially in public institutions.” themselves as gladiators. They’re husbands, they’re sons, they’re fathers, The Weaver-Lang Fellowship is intended to provide scholarships to help they’re brothers — they’re human.” recruit the best-qualified students to the Law Center, especially those interested in the LL.M. program in Energy, Environment and Natural Resources. “The Weaver-Lang scholarship is an opportunity for all of us to give and ensure there is scholarship funding for our LL.M. students,” Baynes said. “It really is important for us to have as many students from as many places across the world to study with us and then bring back what they’ve learned to their home countries.”

NFLPA’S SMITH DEFENDS RIGHTS OF PRO PLAYERS AT UHLC HEALTH LAW PRESENTATION DeMaurice Smith, executive director of the NFL Player’s Association, called for fans to recognize the humanity of professional athletes in regards to safety and legal rights during a discussion presented by the Health Law & Policy Institute at the University of Houston Law Center. The event titled, “Medical and Legal Ethics in the NFL and Sports,” was DeMaurice Smith

law.uh.edu 7 FEBRUARY

NFL’s vice president of labor relations Brook Gardiner, NCAA’s Managing Director of Enforcement Investigations & Processing Derrick Crawford, and Chairman and CEO of the Butler Lappert Williams Firm, M. Quentin B.L. Williams

NCAA, NFL 100 people who couldn’t LAWYERS GIVE TIPS care less about you.” ON WHAT MAKES Brook Gardiner, the A GOOD SPORTS NFL’s vice president of labor relations, advised LAWYER AT UHLC the audience that being a LECTURE successful sports lawyer has Three attorneys with years little to do with supporting of experience in the NBA, your favorite team. NCAA and NFL shared “Being a sports lawyer is tricks of the sports law not a lawyer who likes trade during “Touchdown! sports, or is a fan of sports,” A Sports CLE Program” at the University of Houston Law Center. Gardiner said. “It’s really a lawyer who’s passionate about understanding M. Quentin B.L. Williams served as moderator for the opening panel the business of sports and having a deep understanding of the legal discussion, “Being a Good Sports Lawyer and In-house Counsel.” issues involved in sports.” Williams is the chairman and CEO of the Butler Lappert Williams Firm Derrick Crawford, the NCAA’s Managing Director of Enforcement in New York. He previously worked as an FBI agent, former federal Investigations & Processing, encouraged aspiring sports lawyers to prosecutor, and attorney for the NBA and NFL. prioritize the development of practical skills and networking. He also “There’s no one recipe for getting into sports,” he said. “There are many echoed Gardiner’s sentiments about not showing your team colors. different ways to do it. I’m a firm believer that relationship-building is “If you really want to get into sports, you really have to know people in the way to go about business and to gain access to the sports world. If the industry,” Crawford said. “It’s super competitive. You really need to you meet one person who really believes in you, it’s better than meeting develop good legal skills.

8 Briefcase 2018 “The worst thing you can say if you want to work in sports as a lawyer have security and safety in terms of representation, and where they is that you’re a fan. It’s probably helpful to know the terminology and to feel welcome.” have a basic level of knowledge, but you shouldn’t talk about how much “I want to congratulate the Law Center,” added Short. “The Law you love the Houston Texans or Dallas Cowboys. That will turn your Center is one of the crown jewels of the University of Houston. The prospective employers off.” legal profession is so important, and this is a law school that is moving forward and making decisions for the right reasons.” UHLC PROF. THOMPSON URGES CONGRESSIONAL The new facility brings previously scattered offices together in one area PANEL TO SUPPORT EFFORTS TO IMPROVE THE and allows for further growth of the clinical program. STATE OF FORENSIC SCIENCE SYSTEM “The clinic space now reflects the professional setting that corresponds University of Houston Law Center Professor Sandra Guerra Thompson with the legal services our clinic students and talented faculty provide extolled the success of Houston’s relatively new forensic science center to the community,” said Associate Clinical Professor Janet Heppard, during testimony before a congressional subcommittee in February director of the Clinical Legal Education Program as well as the Civil and called for federal support to improve that crucial component of the Practice Clinic. criminal justice system nationwide. The Law Center’s clinical program gives students the opportunity Plagued by botched test results, an independent audit that raised for hands-on practical experience by providing legal services in six questions about the integrity of lab work in thousands of cases, and a practice areas: Civil Practice, Consumer Law, Criminal Defense, rape kit backlog of more than 6,000, the Houston Police Department’s Entrepreneurship & Community Development, Immigration and Crime Laboratory was reinvented as the Houston Forensic Science Mediation. Center in 2014. The new entity operates independently of law “The clinic allows students to work on the types of cases they would enforcement and is governed by a board of community volunteers, handle in their first five years of practice,” Heppard said. including Thompson. In 2016, the clinic’s 95-plus students mediated more than 1,500 cases “Today the laboratory serves as a national model, pioneering cutting- in Justice of the Peace Courts and the Dispute Resolution Center and edge practices in forensic science,” Thompson told members of the worked more than 20,000 clinic hours helping immigrants, indigent House Judiciary Committee’s subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, families, consumers, small businesses and non-profit organizations in Homeland Security, and Investigations. “I believe these efforts can make Harris County and surrounding areas, according to Heppard. a valuable contribution to national discussions about the future of forensic science in the United States.” Thompson specifically suggested the system could be improved by placing scientists in charge of overseeing forensic science research rather than placing the office within the Department of Justice.

UHLC UNVEILS NEW CLINICAL OFFICE SUITE WITH RIBBON-CUTTING The University of Houston Law Center celebrated its new and expanded clinical office space with a ribbon-cutting celebration. The complete overhaul includes five interview rooms, two of which have telephone and video capabilities to facilitate mediations and other meetings outside of the Houston area and abroad; new offices for the program’s nine faculty members as well as staff; and a new reception area to give clients and students the feel of a real law office. UH Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost Paula Myrick Short and Law Center Dean Leonard M. Baynes attended the ribbon-cutting ceremony. “Clinical legal education is so important because students want to be practice-ready,” Baynes said. “It’s very important for us to have a space that represents the quality of our students and faculty. It also provides Provost Paula M. Short (Left), Dean Leonard M. Baynes, and the clinic’s clients a space that’s like any other law office, where they Clinic Director Janet Heppard at clinic ribbon cutting ceremony law.uh.edu 9 MARCH

UHLC PROFESSOR KNAKE PAYS Energy, Environment and Natural Resources program for taking TRIBUTE TO SHORTLISTED FEMALE advantage of Houston’s global role in the oil and gas market. SUPREME COURT NOMINEES AT “With over 5,000 energy firms in the region, the city of Houston is one ROSENBERG LECTURE of the world’s biggest oil and gas hubs, and a great place to study for LL.M. students looking to be close to the action,” the ranking said. “The Professor Renee Knake praised unsung heroes of school offers an LL.M. in Energy, Environment and Natural Resources Renee Knake the legal profession in a talk titled, “What Does Law, which helps students navigate the complex policies around energy it Mean to be the First? Lessons from Women production, transportation and use.” Shortlisted for the U.S. Supreme Court” at the Yale L. Rosenberg Memorial Lecture in Krost Hall at the University of Houston Law LLM GUIDE touted the Law Center’s Health Law program for its No. Center. 3 ranking in U.S. News & World Report and recognized its research capabilities. “What does it mean to be the first,” Knake pondered. “Why does this matter? In a legal profession where women and minorities continue to LLM GUIDE is a website based in Germany that, “aims to provide a be significantly underrepresented in positions of leadership and power, I comprehensive and up-to-date directory of LL.M. programs, along with believe it matters a great deal. providing community tools and editorial content of interest to people interested in pursuing an LL.M. or a similar postgraduate law degree.” “Although the entering classes of law students now reflect an equal number of men and women and increasingly improve in minority representation—especially here at the University of Houston—we do THREE UHLC SPECIALTY PROGRAMS KEEP TOP 10 not see this same diversity among senior leadership in law firms, law RANKINGS IN U.S. NEWS SURVEY schools, general counsels of major corporations, or our courts.” Knake, the Law Center’s Doherty Chair in Legal Ethics, said while the accomplishments of Sandra Day O’Connor are celebrated as the first woman to become a Supreme Court justice, she was far from the first woman to be considered or qualified to be on the court. She pointed to nine women who were shortlisted before O’Connor, and highlighted the careers of four of them: Florence Allen, Mildred Lillie, Soia Mentschikoff and Susie Sharp. She cited a forthcoming article she Three University of Houston Law Center specialty programs maintained co-authored with Hannah Brenner titled, “Shortlisted,” to be published their Top 10 rankings in the annual U.S. News & World Report survey of in May, that highlights the struggles each woman faced as a trailblazer in the nation’s law schools. a profession dominated by men. The school’s Health Law program tied for 3rd place while Intellectual “Firsts don’t happen without those who go before us,” Knake said. “Firsts Property held the 8th position. The Law Center’s part-time program get all the glory. We cracked the glass ceiling. We broke the color barrier. remained tied for 6th among the nation’s 81 schools that offer such But here’s the truth: We didn’t. Firsts are beneficiaries of a legacy of programs. cracks and breaks that let the light in—a light that ‘firsts’ bask in. Overall, the Law Center ranked 54th among the nation’s 197 ABA “Those who should have been first, but were not, because the timing accredited law schools. wasn’t right, because society hadn’t yet fully progressed in its “The Law Center is an excellent institution and remained steady in the understanding of equality and fairness, or because other factors got in rankings,” said Dean Leonard M. Baynes. “Working together, we can the way, these are really the ones we should remember.” continue to move this great institution forward.” The overall rankings are based on several factors including peer, judicial INTERNATIONAL LL.M. and lawyer assessments, undergraduate GPA, LSAT scores, faculty/ GUIDE RANKS TWO UHLC student ratio, bar passage, and employment rate after graduation. PROGRAMS IN TOP 10 Specialty programs are ranked by faculty teaching in the field. Part- The University of Houston Law time rankings are based on reputation among deans and faculty at peer Center’s LL.M. programs in Energy schools, LSAT scores, undergraduate GPAs, and the breadth of each and Health Law were ranked in Top 10 school’s part-time program. lists published by LLM GUIDE. The rankings praised the Law Center’s

10 Briefcase 2018 HOLLYWOOD PIZAZZ AND ALUMNI GENEROSITY MAKE “The EENR Center is and should be the center of all things related to GALA ’17 A SWINGING SUCCESS energy, environment, and natural resources.” It was a night of glitz and glamour as University of Houston Law Center held its 41st Annual Law Gala & Auction at the Hilton Americas with the UHLC PROF. EVANS CHAMPIONS “HIDDEN FIGURES” theme “Hollywood Swing.” AT LONDON CONFERENCE ON ‘CITIZEN SCIENCE’ More than 550 guests filled the hotel’s Ballroom of the Americas, University of Houston Law Center Professor Barbara Evans traveled bedecked with rich red lighting and black and gold accents surrounded to London to deliver the keynote address at a conference exploring the by lush flowers and lights, to honor outstanding faculty and alumni of growing worldwide citizen science movement on March 2. the Law Center, including The Honorable Mary E. Bacon ’72, Judith A. Citizen science occurs when ordinary Blissard ’87, Tony Buzbee ’97, Michelle Gray ’11, The Honorable Eva laypeople assume the roles of innovators M. Guzman, William J. Jackson ’92, Greg King ’85, George Levkoff ’85, and researchers in a people-driven Professor Michael A. Olivas, Gary W. Orloff ’73, Ricky A. Raven ’86, The process of scientific discovery, as opposed Honorable Randy Wilson ’77 and the law firm, Andrews Kurth Kenyon. to treating research as the exclusive Alex Roberts ’06, a partner at Beck Redden LLP, chaired the 41st Annual province of professional scientists who Law Gala with his wife Anne Roberts. handle discovery for a disengaged public. Dean Leonard M. Baynes, spoke about the success of the Law Center “We tend to forget that all throughout and shared with attendees exciting developments with the Cornerstone history, regular people were the main Club campaign to support a new law building. drivers of scientific discovery. A few citizen scientists became famous, like UH System Chancellor Renu Khator took the stage to congratulate the Carl Linneaus in the 18th century and Law Center on this year’s accomplishments and to honor Buzbee as Barbara Evans Charles Darwin in the 19th, but there winner of the Dean’s Award. were innumerable ‘hidden figures’ like the Auctioneer Vincent J. Montalbano performed a lively “Paddles Up” women who invented settled agriculture millennia ago by figuring out speed fundraiser where attendees were encouraged to donate on the how to cultivate plants from seeds,” Evans noted. spot to support student scholarship. The “Paddles Up” and live and silent auctions raised more than $99,000. The auction was co-chaired NATIONAL LAWMAKERS OFFER VARYING PERSPECTIVES by Michelle Gray. The event overall raised nearly $500,000, which will fund scholarships, advocacy programs, faculty research, student ON ENERGY POLICY AT UHLC-HOSTED SYMPOSIUM organizations, library acquisitions, technology advances, student A discussion that analyzed the implications of President Donald Trump’s recruitment, and other student activities at the Law Center. administration’s energy policies and their potential impact on the industry, economy, and the future of the planet brought several U.S. Following the auction, attendees danced the night away to the musical congressmen to the University of Houston Law Center. stylings of the Richard Brown Orchestra. “The Future of Energy Policy,” was the final symposium of the UH U.S. NEWS RANKS UHLC ENVIRONMENTAL LAW AND Energy Symposium Series. ADVOCACY PROGRAMS AMONG NATION’S BEST The opening speaker was Wayne Christian, a commissioner on the Railroad Commission of Texas. Christian was elected to the agency in The University of Houston Law Center’s Environment, Energy & Natural November 2016. Christian represented District 9 in the Texas House of Resources Center and the Blakely Advocacy Institute were recognized for Representatives from 1997-2005 and again from 2007-2013. environmental law and trial advocacy respectively by U.S. News & World Report. UHLC’s trial advocacy program ranked No. 21 and environmental Rep. Gene Green, a 1977 Law Center alumnus, followed. Green was law ranked No. 28. elected to the Congress from the 29th Congressional District in 1992 after 20 years in the Texas legislature. He is the ranking member for “The Law Center has a tremendous advocacy program and it is good to see the subcommittee on health and also serves on the subcommittees on our excellence being noticed on a national scale,” said Blakely Advocacy energy, environment and digital commerce and consumer protection. Institute Executive Director, Jim Lawrence ’07. Rep. Pete Olson was the final speaker. Olson was elected in 2008. For the Law Center’s Environment, Energy & Natural Resources Center, He serves as vice chair of the energy and power subcommittee and it marks a first appearance in the U.S. News & World Report’s rankings is a member of the communications and technology subcommittee. since EENR was founded in 2008. He also serves on the environment subcommittee and co-chairs the “Houston is the energy capital of the world,” said Professor Darren Bush. Congressional Refinery Caucus and Corrosion Caucus. law.uh.edu 11 APRIL

2000. He is a past chair and current executive committee member of the AALS section on agency and unincorporated business associations. In April 2015, he was elected to membership in the American Law Institute.

AIR FORCE COURT OF CRIMINAL APPEALS HOLDS HEARING AT UH LAW CENTER The University of Houston Law Center was the site of a U.S. Air Force Court of Criminal Appeals hearing in Krost Hall. The hearing was led by Chief Judge Col. Rodger Drew, a 1987 Law Center Alumnus. “It was an honor to have this esteemed court come to the University of Houston Law Center,” said Jim Lawrence, director of the Blakely Advocacy Institute. The Court heard the case of U.S. vs. Blatney, where the issue on appeal is whether a military judge erred by suppressing the appellee senior airman Chad Blatney’s act of unlocking his cellular phone for investigators, as well as the contents of his phone pursuant to the Fifth Amendment.

Douglas Moll with Provost Paula M. Short

UH HONORS LAW CENTER PROF. DOUGLAS MOLL WITH TEACHING EXCELLENCE AWARD The University of Houston presented Law Center Professor Douglas Moll with a faculty excellence award in April for his outstanding achievement in teaching. Moll received the Teaching Excellence Award at the 2017 Moores Professors, Teaching Excellence Global, and Undergraduate Research Mentoring Awards Dinner at the University of Houston Hilton. “I am delighted Professor Moll received this award,” added Dean Leonard M. Baynes. “He is an outstanding teacher. His dedication to students epitomized the qualities and character of all the Law Center’s faculty.” “I am truly honored to be one of the recipients of this year’s award,” Moll said. “Thanks to my students, who make teaching enjoyable, and to my colleagues, who are always willing to lend an ear on days when my teaching is far from excellent. Thanks also to Dean Baynes and the administration for nominating and supporting me during this process.” Moll came to the University of Houston Law Center in the fall of 1997 as an associate professor. He was elevated to professor of law in 2008. He was the George Butler Research Professor of Law from 2002-2005. He is currently the Beirne, Maynard & Parsons, L.L.P. Professor of Law, a title he has held since 2005. He teaches business organizations, doing deals, securities regulation, secured financing, sales and leasing, and business torts. In 1998, 1999, 2003, 2011, and 2014, Moll was honored with the “Professor of the Year” award by the Order of the Barons. He previously received a Teaching Excellence Award from the University of Houston in Judges with the U.S. Air Force Court of Criminal Appeals

12 Briefcase 2018 Fernando Basilio, Sydney Nguyen, Carlos Ruiz, and Danny Avila

MOOT COURT COMPETITION IN SPANISH TAKES UHLC For Fernando Basilio 2L, his time in Colombia has inspired him to STUDENTS TO COLOMBIA pursue practice in the field of international investment arbitration. Three University of Houston Law Center students traveled to Bogotá, “This experience has opened my eyes to the world of international Colombia as they participated in the International Investment investment arbitration, and it is an area of law that I would like to keep Arbitration Competition, a moot court contest conducted entirely in learning about.” Spanish. Sydney Nguyen 3L said the competition was one of the most satisfying “With the Law Center’s proximity to Latin America, providing our and challenging experiences she has undertaken. She credited some of students with an opportunity to interact with the Latin American her success to learning Spanish while completing her undergraduate legal culture is a tremendous benefit,” said Jim Lawrence, director of education at the University of Houston. the Blakely Advocacy Institute. “Participating in this competition also “The problem was complex and covered investment arbitration, a vast supports two main goals of the Law Center: diversity and international area of law that was completely new to me, and a growing field,” Nguyen branding. The fact that the competition is entirely in Spanish makes this said. “The fact that this competition was completely in Spanish made it competition even more unique.” especially challenging during the whole process of research, writing, and Second-year Law Center student Carlos Ruiz said the competition oral arguments. proved to be stimulating, even for someone who grew up speaking “When Jim Lawrence asked if I wanted to take on this challenge, I was Spanish. thrilled and excited to push myself to accomplish something I will “It was a very different experience from what we are used to in the U.S.,” never forget. I attribute my experience to my teammates and coaches, he said. “Even for a native Spanish speaker, it was challenging to keep a Lorena Perez-McGill, Julián Cárdenas García and Eldy Quintanilla conversation or argument with an attorney that comes from a different Roche, who were all very supportive and crucial to my growth and educational system. I hope more students are able to have the same success from the start.” experience.”

law.uh.edu 13 MAY

STAR JONES ’86 ANALYZES program with two former Latin American government officials as its first LAW’S RELATIONSHIP WITH participants. NEWS AT UHLC LECTURE The joint initiative with UH Energy is a unique effort to promote exchanges and research on best regulatory practices in the oil and gas New York prosecutor-turned-TV journalist industry in the Americas. and talk show host Star Jones returned to her alma mater on May 5 to discuss the law’s The initial visiting scholars are Magda Chambriard, former president of the intersection with the press in a talk titled, Brazilian National Petroleum Agency (ANP), and Dr. Yvonne Fabara, former “Law, Justice & the Media” in Krost Hall at Secretary of Hydrocarbons of Ecuador. Star Jones the University of Houston Law Center. They will be affiliated with the Law Center for one year, conducting Jones, a 1986 alumna of the Law Center, began her legal career as a research, participating in lectures, and sharing their expertise on specific prosecutor in the Brooklyn District Attorney’s Office before becoming a concerns that affect the oil industry in the western hemisphere senior district attorney for New York City. She gained notoriety as a legal “We are very fortunate to have these two outstanding experts and energy commentator for the cable network “Court TV” in the early 1990s. She then leaders from the Americas, who will help us disseminate both fact-based worked as a legal analyst and correspondent for NBC’s “Today” and “NBC research and policy recommendations to government, decision-makers and Nightly News.” She later was a co-host of the ABC woman-centric talk show the general public on vital energy issues,” said UHLC Research Professor “The View” from 1997-2006. Julian Cardenas, who is coordinating the program. “When I came to the University of Houston Law Center, law and justice The energy scholars program is an offshoot of the “Inter-American obviously went together,” she said. “I just never thought the media would Hydrocarbons Regulators Dialogue,” an initiative started by the EENR make such a vital impact on my whole career.” Center in 2016 that seeks to bridge the gap between the oil and gas industry, In her talk, Jones referenced the high-profile trials of William Kennedy national hydrocarbon agencies and academia. Smith, the Menendez brothers, O.J. Simpson, Mike Tyson and others. She said these trials are partly responsible for the tabloidization of media ZEALOUS ADVOCACY and helped feed the public’s insatiable appetite for celebrity news and gossip. CONFERENCE “With the media, there’s a very fine line between reporting on a trial and COMMEMORATES 50-YEAR sensationalizing a trial that can lead to jury dismissals, jury sequesters, MARK OF GAULT DECISION and the disregarding of evidence in fear of media biases,” Jones said. Juvenile justice attorneys learned new “Sometimes the law steps on its own toes as we saw in some of these cases. legal techniques to defend their clients It’s unfortunate, but justice doesn’t always mean closure.” during the 16th annual Zealous Advocacy Jones is now president of the Professional Diversity Network, an internet Conference in May at the University of Ellen Marrus at podium software and services company that develops and operates online Houston Law Center. The conference, networking opportunities for professionals and employers seeking to hire titled “Gault@50: Quality Representation for Youth,” was a two-day event women, minorities, veterans, LGBT and disabled professionals. that highlighted the 50th anniversary of the landmark Supreme Court “Star Jones is one of our most prominent alums,” Law Center Dean Leonard Case that granted children the right to counsel in delinquency cases. M. Baynes said. “She is an all-around player. She is a lawyer, she has been a The conference focused on access to counsel and quality of counsel in legal correspondent, she’s been an author, and now she’s a businesswoman delinquency proceedings. who is the CEO of a major enterprise. She is one of our own, and I couldn’t “Gault is a landmark decision as it granted children due process rights, be prouder to have Star come back to the Law Center.” particularly the right to counsel, in delinquency proceedings. As with any Supreme Court decision, however, the implementation is just as important UHLC ‘ENERGY VISITING and is why we wanted to focus on access and quality of counsel,” said Professor Ellen Marrus, director of the Center for Children, Law & Policy SCHOLAR’ PROGRAM and Royce Till Professor of Law at the Law Center. DESIGNED TO SHARE “Having an attorney guide a child through the delinquency process is more EXPERTISE AND PROMOTE than just having a warm body sitting next to the youth. It is important for the RESEARCH THROUGHOUT attorney to understand delinquency, civil, criminal, education, immigration Mada Chambriard Yvonne Fabara THE AMERICAS and disability law as several examples, adolescent development, family The Environment, Energy & Natural Resources Center at the University interactions, and how to give a voice to the child’s expressed interests. of Houston Law Center launched an “Energy Visiting Scholar” research Juvenile law is one of the most complicated and demanding areas of practice.”

14 Briefcase 2018 construction accident. Raised by a single mother, Britton helped her run the family grocery store throughout the Great Depression. He served in the Army during WW II, rising to the rank of lieutenant, and was in Japan with the occupation forces during which he witnessed the Members of the 2017 graduating class Japanese surrender to Gen. Douglas MacArthur in Tokyo Bay. After returning to the U.S., Britton earned his undergraduate degree from BAKER ’94 ENCOURAGES CLASS OF ’17 TO EMBRACE Penn State University in 1948; his LL.B. in 1951 from Southern Methodist UNLIMITED OPPORTUNITIES OF A LEGAL CAREER University law school, graduating first in his class; and LL.M. in 1961 from Meredith Attwell Baker encouraged 311 University of Houston Law Center Harvard Law School under a Ford Foundation Fellowship. graduates to keep an open mind about their practice areas at the Law Prior to entering academe, he worked as an associate for the now defunct Center Convocation at NRG Arena. The graduating class included 237 J.D. firm of Butler, Binion, Rice & Cook from 1953-58. candidates and 74 graduates of the Law Center’s LL.M. program. He was practicing at Butler, Binion when then-Dean A.A. White hired him as Baker, a 1994 alumna of the Law Center, is the president and CEO an adjunct professor. He joined the faculty as an assistant professor in 1958, of CTIA, a trade association and advocacy group for the wireless was promoted to associate professor in 1961 and full professor in 1966. communication industry. He became active in labor arbitration early in his career, gaining national “Our profession is designed to be adversarial,” she said. “But that does not recognition as an arbitrator and member of the National Academy of make us adversaries. If you raise your voice, act out in frustration or anger, Arbitrators. He also served as a director of the board of the Houston Branch you aren’t helping your cause and are only impacting your blood pressure. of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas from 1978 to 1983. Plus it rarely, if ever, works. You should always strive to see the other side. Make each other human and find compromise.” Professor Emeritus John Mixon notes in his book, “The Autobiography of a Law School,” that Britton brought the computer age to the law school: “Ray Baker used her own career trajectory as an illustration of how a law degree was the first of the faculty to join the computer generation with his state- can lead to many paths. of-the-art Wang word processor.” Mixon also noted that Britton “attended “I’m an example of what people mean when they say you can do anything every law graduation ceremony since he joined the faculty.” with a law degree,” she said. “Upon reflection, at every stop along the way in He wrote numerous publications, including “Are We Beginning a New Day my career, I was a lawyer, even if not a practicing one, and that’s important. for Management Rights;” “Law of Eminent Domain in Texas;” “Blue-Sky Some of you will have traditional legal careers and others will chart more Sweat Shops;” “Texas Law of Condemnation” (with Rayburn); and “The non-traditional careers, like me, or have a mix. Arbitration Guide.” “There is no right path. But as I said, no matter what job you have, whether it is your first or the one you’ll have 20 years from now, you will be a lawyer UHLC’S MARGARET WEBBER GRADUATES AND GIVES every day of your life starting today.” BIRTH ON SAME DAY Dean Leonard M. Baynes told graduates that the Law Center eagerly As Margaret Webber prepares to embark on a career in law, she is also anticipates their success, and emphasized the long-term value of a law degree. beginning another lifelong journey — motherhood. “Graduates, you have been taught by some of the best law professors in the On the afternoon of May 13, the 2017 University of Houston Law Center country who have fundamentally transformed each one of you by teaching graduate and her husband, Hudson Webber, welcomed their newborn you how to think like lawyers,” Baynes said. “You have learned to write son, Hudson Brian Webber Jr., who will be referred to as Beau. His birth precisely, to analyze rigorously, to advocate persuasively and to conform to provided Webber a special reason to miss the Law Center Convocation the highest professional standards. ceremony later that day. “You can now take these tools and transform the world by representing “I am so proud of my J.D. and really wanted to walk across that stage, but individual clients to secure justice and by providing the legal architecture of this was a great life achievement too,” Webber said. “Becoming a mother and global, national social, political and economic movements.” graduating cum laude from UHLC all in one day was the best day of my life.” Webber said while juggling a pregnancy with her final semester of law UHLC PROF. RAYMOND L. BRITTON DIES AT 92 AFTER school proved to be challenging, the support of her husband helped her 59 YEARS IN THE CLASSROOM persevere. Professor Raymond L. Britton, who taught Admiralty Law, Alternative “There’s no way I could have finished as strong as I did without the love and Dispute Resolution, and business law courses at the University of Houston encouragement of my husband,” Webber said. “He was the best cheerleader Law Center for 59 years, passed away on May 19 of complications resulting I could ask for. While the timing of the baby seemed a little crazy, I actually from a broken leg. think it was completely perfect. Britton was the second longest tenured professor in the history of the “I sat in the hospital bed the night of graduation holding my new son. I law school. glanced at the clock at 6:45 p.m., and knew the ceremony was going on. I Britton was born Aug. 20, 1924 in Charleroi, Pa., a steel-mining town think my heart almost burst with pride. Beau could not have picked a better on the Monongahela River. When he was 3 years old, his father died in a birthday, even if it meant I had to take finals at 40 weeks pregnant.” law.uh.edu 15 JUNE

Peter Roos, left, Thomas Saenz, Vilma Martinez and Professor Michael A. Olivas

UH LAW CENTER, MALDEF COMMEMORATE PLYLER to be at the Law Center to commemorate this decision which emanated V. DOE’S 35TH ANNIVERSARY from this very state based upon a law that sought to deprive undocumented children from the right to a free, public education.” The University of Houston Law Center celebrated the 35th anniversary of the Supreme Court case Plyler v. Doe with a panel discussion Saenz then moderated the panel discussion held in the Hendricks hosted by the Institute for Higher Education Law & Governance and Heritage Room that included Vilma Martinez, the former president and the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund in the general counsel of MALDEF, Peter Roos, the former MALDEF national Hendricks Heritage Room. director of education litigation, and Professor Michael A. Olivas, the William B. Bates Distinguished Chair of Law and director of the Institute The U.S. Supreme Court decided in Plyer v. Doe that no public school for Higher Education Law & Governance at the Law Center. district has a basis to deny children access to education based on their immigration status, citing that children have little control over their Olivas said he considers Plyler v. Doe the preeminent decision in immigration status, the harm it would inflict on the child and society immigration law, but that it needs support as these issues evolve. itself, and equal protection rights under the 14th Amendment. “This case is the high-water mark for immigrant rights,” Olivas said. “This was a landmark Supreme Court decision in the history of education “It was courageous and strategic. Winning is one thing, but it’s not law, Latino civil rights, and certainly in the history of MALDEF,” said static. It has to be fought for, it has to be defended, re-conceptualized Thomas Saenz, president and general counsel of MALDEF. “We’re pleased and re-applied.”

16 Briefcase 2018 and medical malpractice in the U.S., as well as learning how other countries’ legal systems work in issues related to health law,” López de la Osa Escribano said. Additional speakers included Krista Barnes, a senior legal officer in institutional compliance at the MD Anderson Cancer Center; Holly Rumbaugh, managing legal officer for litigation, patient care and hospital operations at the MD Anderson Cancer Center; Madhu Purewal, a senior legal officer and director in institutional compliance at the MD Anderson Cancer Center; and Dr. Tyron Hoover, the director of the biospecimen research office at MD Anderson.

TOP SCHOLARSHIP WEBSITE JOTWELL RECOGNIZES UHLC PROFESSORS’ EXCELLENCE Julia Peebles (student coach), Stefan Casso, Mary Borrego, Three University of Houston Law Center professors were featured on a Zach Scott, and Angela Odensky (coach) prestigious scholarship website during the 2016-2017 academic year. UHLC STUDENTS EMERGE VICTORIOUS IN HEALTH Founded in 2011, JOTWELL has become a leading venue for LAW MOOT COURT TOURNAMENT highlighting outstanding legal scholarship. The site features peer- selected and peer-written commentary featuring, in its editors’ words, Three University of Houston Law Center students brought home first- “the best in recent scholarship relating to the law.” place hardware after winning the seventh annual L. Edward Bryant, Jr. National Health Law Transactional Competition in Chicago. The “Having an article selected for a JOTWELL feature represents a competition was hosted by the Beazley Institute for Health Law and significant reflection on the excellence of a professor’s work,” said Policy at the Loyola University Chicago School of Law. Professor Dave Fagundes, who serves as UHLC’s Assistant Dean for Faculty Development. “Law Center faculty members regularly produce The winning students included recent 2017 Law Center graduate high-profile scholarship that draws national Stefan Casso, 3L Mary Borrego and 3L Zachary Scott. The team was attention, and makes important contributions to coached by Angela Odensky, a 2014 graduate of the Law Center and contemporary dialogues about the law. a current adjunct professor, and Julia Peebles, a 2017 Law Center graduate and LL.M. candidate in Health Law. “The regularity with which scholarship by faculty has been selected for JOTWELL is just “We at the Health Law & Policy Institute are so proud of these students’ one of many indicators of the Law Center’s success,” said Professor Jessica Roberts, director of the Institute. “We commitment to academic excellence.” appreciate their hard work and dedication.” Kellen Zale Professor Amy Salyzyn of the University of HLPI AND LEGAL EXPERTS FROM MD ANDERSON Ottawa Faculty of Law reviewed Professor Renee Knake’s article, “The Commercialization of Legal TEAM UP FOR COMPARATIVE HEALTH LAW COURSE Ethics,” for a November 2016 review in the Legal University of Houston Law Center students compared and contrasted Profession section of JOTWELL. U.S. legal health systems with some of its European counterparts Professor Eric Biber of Berkeley Law School during Alfonso López de la Osa Escribano’s comparative law class. featured Professor Kellen Zale’s article, “When López de la Osa Escribano is an adjunct professor and the director of Everything is Small: The Regulatory Challenge of the Law Center’s Center for U.S. and Mexican Law. Renee Knake Scale in the Sharing Economy,” in the Lex section The course, from the Law Center’s Health Law & Policy Institute, of JOTWELL. featured guest speakers from MD Anderson who specialize in the area In April, Professor Elizabeth G. Thornburg of where law and healthcare intersect. Students also studied legal and the SMU Dedman School of Law showcased health systems in Belgium, Brazil, France, Italy, New Zealand, Spain Professor Lonny Hoffman’s article “Plausible and the U.K. Theory, Implausible Conclusions,” in the Courts “I’m glad our students were able to take advantage of learning directly Law section of JOTWELL. For Knake and from MD Anderson experts in HIPAA, end of life and patients’ Hoffman, it marked multiple article reviews on rights, protection of human subjects, human tissues, and body parts JOTWELL. Lonny Hoffman law.uh.edu 17 JULY

UHLC FACULTY PROVIDES ROUNDUP ON SUPREME SCOTUS JUSTICE SOTOMAYOR CITES AMICUS BRIEF COURT CO-AUTHORED BY UHLC PROFESSOR RAVE Faculty members discussed a case involving religious freedom, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor cited the work of immigration issues and other topics at the U.S. Supreme Court Update University of Houston Law Center Assistant Professor D. Theodore at the University of Houston Law Center. Rave in her dissenting opinion in Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. v. Superior Assistant Professor James Nelson began the discussion with an analysis Court of California, San Francisco County. of Trinity Lutheran Church of Columbia, Inc. v. Comer. The case involved 86 California residents and 592 non-resident The case centered on an application by the Trinity Lutheran Church plaintiffs who sued Bristol-Myers Squibb over alleged injuries from the of Columbia to resurface its playground at the church’s preschool and drug Plavix. Bristol-Myers Squibb argued that, despite selling millions daycare center. of Plavix pills in California, the California state court did not have the jurisdiction to preside over claims from the 592 non-residents because “Missouri had a grant program which allowed non-profit organizations their alleged injuries were not “caused by” the company’s California to apply to the state for funds so that they can resurface their playground contacts. with recycled tires,” Nelson said. “It also had a policy in the grant program of categorically denying any funds to churches or other similar Rave’s brief argued that requiring the strict causal connection between religious organizations. the plaintiffs’ claims and the defendant’s contacts with the state that Bristol-Myers Squibb advocated could cause uncertainty and undermine “Trinity Lutheran Church applied for a grant to convert its gravel settled expectations about jurisdiction in both simple and complex cases playground to the recycled tire surface, and not surprisingly it was in federal and state courts. It also argued that Bristol-Myers Squibb’s denied funding on the basis of Missouri’s policy and was denied funding proposal would be inconsistent with the court’s seminal 1945 decision despite the fact that it had finished fifth among 44 applicants in the on jurisdiction in International Shoe Co. v. Washington, and urged the scoring process. The top 14 qualified for funds, and had it not been a court to reject a strict causation test. church, it would have qualified for the funds.” The Supreme Court reversed and remanded the judgment of the In a 7-2 decision, the Supreme Court ruled that Missouri’s policy toward California court in an 8-1 decision delivered by Justice Samuel Alito on religious institutions was discriminatory. June 19. Although the court held that courts in California did not have “The church filed suit and claimed its exclusion from the grant program the proper jurisdiction to adjudicate claims by the out-of-state plaintiffs, violated the free exercise clause of the First Amendment. The free it did not adopt Bristol-Myers Squibb’s proposed causation rule, as exercise clause forbids laws that prohibit the free exercise of religion,” Sotomayor pointed out in dissent, citing Rave’s brief. Nelson said. “The Supreme Court in this case held that Missouri’s policy of excluding churches from the grant program was unconstitutional and HOUSTON-BASED FOUNDATION AWARDS MAJOR violated the free exercise clause of the First Amendment.” GRANT TO UHLC’S PROGRAM TO AID AT-RISK YOUTH The second speaker was Clinical Associate Professor Geoffrey A. The University of Houston Law Hoffman, who discussed the recent attempts at a travel ban along Center’s Juvenile & Capital with citizenship and immigration cases. Hoffman, director of the Law Advocacy Project was recently Center’s Immigration Clinic, recounted when he helped immigrants awarded a $100,000 grant from affected by the ban by volunteering at George Bush Intercontinental The Simmons Foundation to Airport in late January. support its record-sealing program “I felt like I was in a moment of history,” Hoffman said. “I spent from and to develop a program for dual- 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. at the airport. It was quite an experience. Protestors status youth. arrived in the afternoon, and Terminal E was completely flooded with Dual-status youth — often referred people. It was very dramatic.” to as “crossover youth” — are The session concluded with a general discussion about the October 2016 children who are simultaneously Supreme Court Term with Professor Peter Linzer and Josh Blackman, involved in the juvenile justice an associate professor at the South Texas College of Law Houston. system and foster care system; Attendees received 2.75 hours of continuing legal education credit. they suffer from histories of abuse and neglect. Without appropriate and targeted interventions and Katya Dow specialized legal representation,

18 Briefcase 2018 these youth are at increased risk for mental health concerns, educational its name and brand,” said Dean Leonard M. Baynes. “The case presented problems, occupational difficulties and public health and safety issues. important and novel legal issues. The Law Center community is deeply “We saw a real need for a program to address the needs of dual-status grateful for the expert legal representation by UH General Counsel youth, and we came up with the idea of training law students to serve as Dona Cornell, Al Deaver, and alumnus Tony Buzbee ’97. Our success is guardians ad litem for these children,” said Katya Dow, the legal program solely attributable to their outstanding lawyering and advocacy.” director of JCAP and a professor of practice at the Law Center. “The presentation of this award is not about highlighting a winner Dow noted that dual-status youth are poorly served by the existing or a loser in a lawsuit,” Craig Stone, chairman of the IP Law Section’s system because of a lack of meaningful and regularized communication Trademark Committee, said in announcing the award during the state between the courts with jurisdiction over the delinquency matters bar’s annual meeting in Dallas. “It’s to recognize the exceptional work and those with jurisdiction over foster care matters. JCAP’s newly- of a team of in-house lawyers, brand guardians and outside counsel established program aims to correct these problems by training law collaborating and taking action under expedited deadlines to gather students to address the issues these juveniles face holistically. evidence and meet a burden of proof in the context of a trademark injunction hearing. “In the existing system, these children and young adults often simply fall through the cracks, and JCAP’s dual status representation program aims “Their representation of the UHLC brand under emotion-filled to help fill those cracks,” Dow said. circumstances is a great example of what trademark lawyers and teams face every day when tasked with protecting their multi-generational “The record-sealing program we operate in partnership with the assets as brand stewards,” added Stone, senior counsel, Intellectual Houston Bar Association and the Harris County Juvenile Probation Property, for Phillips 66 in Houston. Department, while enormously important to the juveniles, is also enormously time-consuming,” Dow added. “Consequently, without this After a successful federal district court decision in UHLC’s favor, the grant from the Simmons Foundation, JCAP would simply not have had two law schools ultimately settled the case and agreed on the name the capacity to add the GAL program to its operations. South Texas College of Law Houston. “JCAP is grateful to the Foundation and honored by its confidence and “This case was a huge win for the University of Houston and the looks forward to serving this new and deserving constituency of dual- University of Houston Law Center in protecting its valuable brand and status youth.” reputation it has worked so hard to achieve in the higher education and legal community,” said Cornell, UH System Vice Chancellor for Legal The Simmons Foundation is a philanthropic organization that partners Affairs, UH Vice President for Legal Affairs and UH System/UH General with other groups to provide support to women, youth and families, Counsel. among many other vulnerable members of the population. “We knew this case had to be aggressively pursued by a powerhouse of JCAP was established at the Law Center in 2014 by Professor David attorneys and the collective support of the administration at UH and the R. Dow, longtime death penalty attorney and founder of the Texas UH Law Center. Tony Buzbee showed why he has a reputation for truly Innocence Network. The project seeks to reduce juvenile delinquency being one of the best litigators around. The specialized IP and litigation and improve life outcomes for economically and socially disadvantaged experience offered by Al Deaver and the attorneys at Sutton, McAughan, youth through the provision of legal, educational and social support Deaver, including Elizabeth W. King, as well as the knowledge of UH services. trademarks by Jennifer Sickler at Thompson & Knight were critical to a favorable ruling by (U.S. District) Judge (Keith) Ellison. UHLC PRESENTED WITH TEXAS BAR TRADEMARK “Additionally, Dean Baynes’ exceptional leadership and the support of AWARD FOR DEFENDING SCHOOL’S BRAND IN his staff working with my office and outside counsel throughout the NAMING DISPUTE litigation made this a true team win for which UH and the UH Law Center should be proud.” The University of Houston Law Center was honored with the inaugural State Bar of “I was honored to serve as lead counsel for this important and unique Texas IP Section Annual Trademark case,” said Buzbee, a 1997 Law Center graduate. “The team involved in Award for its defense of the school’s this effort are some of the best in the IP field. The support we received brand after South Texas College of Law from the chancellor, the dean, and their staffs was top notch and most announced plans to change its name to appreciated. And I would be remiss to fail to mention General Counsel Houston College of Law. Dona Cornell. In my estimation, she is the absolute best. We are very pleased with the result of the case.” “I am very thankful that the Texas Bar recognized the Law Center for protecting

law.uh.edu 19 JULY

Associate Dean Greg Vetter, Paul M. Janicke, and Dean Leonard M. Baynes

TEXAS BAR IP SECTION HONORS UHLC PROF. terrific scholar, and a very valued and respected member of our Law JANICKE WITH LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD Center community. I am delighted that his accomplishments are being recognized by the Texas Bar.” University of Houston Law Center Professor Paul M. Janicke was honored with the Tom Arnold Lifetime Achievement Award by the Janicke, who joined the UHLC faculty in 1992, was instrumental in Intellectual Property Law Section of the State Bar of Texas during its creating the Institute for Intellectual Property & Information Law at the annual meeting in Dallas. Law Center. He teaches Evidence, Patent Litigation, an introductory survey course in Intellectual Property Law, and a seminar for Advanced “I am grateful for the opportunity to teach at the Law Center,” Janicke Topics in Intellectual Property Law. He has published extensively in the said in accepting the award. “I have wonderful students and terrific fields of patent law and licensing law. colleagues. While I very much appreciate this award, the real reward during the past 25 years of service at the Law Center has been the “He is a big reason why UHLC’s IPIL has been consistently regarded process itself.” as one of the top IP law programs in the country,” said Greg Vetter, associate dean and HIPLA Professor of Law who teaches various “Professor Janicke is a giant in the field of intellectual property law,” intellectual property law courses. added Dean Leonard M. Baynes. “He is an outstanding teacher, a

20 Briefcase 2018 While introducing Janicke at the awards luncheon, Vetter thanked his UHLC STUDENT AWARDED colleague for his mentoring and friendship during his 15 years at the TWO ROCKY MOUNTAIN Law Center. “His support for my endeavors has been invaluable. It has been a privilege to help Paul in his singular mission: to give the best and SCHOLARSHIPS TO PURSUE highest education and professional development to our students.” NATURAL RESOURCES LAW Prior to entering academe, Janicke practiced patent litigation for more A part-time student at the University of than 20 years with the Houston firm of Arnold, White & Durkee, where Houston Law Center and a veteran of he was outside patent counsel for clients such as Shell Oil Company and nine years in the oil and gas field has been Compaq Computer Corp. The firm was founded by Tom Arnold, the awarded two scholarships by the Rocky namesake of the lifetime achievement award. Mountain Mineral Law Foundation. Calvin F. McKnight “I competed with a large number of well- MABRY ’10 TAKES REINS OF UNIVERSITY OF qualified applicants and to be selected amongst my peers is truly an HOUSTON LAW ALUMNI BOARD honor,” said Calvin F. McKnight. “The Rocky Mountain Mineral Law Foundation has been dedicated to the study of laws and regulations Seven years after completing her legal relating to natural resource and energy law in which I have had great education at the University of Houston Law interest since before my legal studies began.” Center, Cynthia Mabry paid it forward. McKnight received a $7,000 RMMLF scholarship in addition to a $7,000 The 2010 alumna was elected president Joe Rudd Scholarship, named in honor of a prominent natural resources of the University of Houston Law alumni attorney. board in 2017. Mabry said she hopes to make an impact by expanding the Law Center’s The scholarships are designed to encourage the study of natural alumni network and assisting Dean Leonard resources law by highly-qualified students who have the potential to M. Baynes and the Office of Law Alumni make a significant contribution in the field. Relations’ bold vision for the future. “My journey in energy started after my sophomore year of undergrad, Cynthia Mabry “My goal is to help with the Law Center’s when I received my first internship with BP as a production engineer,” ambitious goals,” Mabry said. “It’s focusing on organization, outreach McKnight said. “It was there I realized how fascinating and vast the and supporting Dean Baynes’ objectives for the Law Center. The most energy industry is.” precious thing you can give is time. I really enjoy working with the “Calvin is a shining example of the University of Houston law student,” Law Center. It’s fun to see classmates, and I enjoy meeting our next said Dean Leonard M. Baynes. “He is super smart and talented. Most generation of lawyers. The staff at the Law Center is world-class and importantly, he has grit providing him with the capacity to juggle a wife, makes my job easy.” young family, demanding job, and challenging school work. Calvin is Armed with an accounting degree from LSU, Mabry began working as just one example of the Law Center’s amazing students. And the law an auditor at PricewaterhouseCoopers. She was intrigued by the work of students today share the same spark as the countless number of Law advising clients in financial matters, and after three years, she resigned Center graduates who preceded them.” from her position and solidified her path to the Law Center. While in law school, McKnight has served as vice president of the UHLC Her favorite memories of the Law Center are the relationships she chapter of the Association for International Petroleum Negotiators developed with classmates and professors. Mabry worked as a research (AIPN) and mentored 8th grade students at the Lawson Academy as well assistant for Professor Darren Bush and fondly recalls being a student in as the Law Center’s Pre-Law Pipeline Program. Professor Barbara Evans’ first Torts class at the Law Center. Professor McKnight shares credit for his success in a demanding lifestyle: “I thank Jacqueline Weaver taught one of Mabry’s favorite classes, Oil & Gas, my wife, Sabrina, and my two children, Julianna, 2 years old, and Parker, sparking an interest that led her to develop an expertise in the energy 8 months; without their support none of this is possible.” industry. Mabry has represented public and private entities, investors and underwriters in a wide variety of capital markets and finance transactions. Mabry explains that, while her accounting degree was helpful in understanding the business world, her law degree gave her the ability to work from all perspectives and to look at issues from different angles.

law.uh.edu 21 Graduating Class of 2017 Pipeline Program

UHLC PRE-LAW PIPELINE PROGRAM SCHOLARS LEAVE WITH MISSION TO BE TRAILBLAZERS Forty-six graduates of the University of Houston Law years of college. The curriculum consists of three weeks of Center’s Pre-Law Pipeline Program were encouraged introductory law school classes taught by UHLC faculty, to follow their dreams of pursuing a legal education at a two weeks of LSAT preparation, and three weeks of closing at the Student Center South on the University of internships. Houston’s main campus. “Prior to the start of our internship period, we were prepped The theme of this year’s Closing Ceremony, “Trailblazing,” to be stellar young professionals through professional was selected by Leen Basharat, a student at the University development workshops hosted by Kristi Johnson, a of Houston. “I felt that nothing could better describe the 46 communication consultant and coach, and Kourtney James students selected into this program,” said Basharat, one of Perry, associate director of the Career Development Office,” the Pipeline Program students. “As I asked those who were said Elena Villarreal, a student at Texas A&M University. the first in their family to become a lawyer, first to attend “We were supported throughout our internship placement a college in the U.S. or the first to attend a second level of by an online session with Tiffany Tucker, assistant dean for higher education to stand to be recognized, I saw the room Career Development, who generously volunteered her time rise. with the pipeline students.” “This program offered opportunity to shape ourselves and Twenty-seven students took part in the Scholar II track, society, regardless of where you’ve come from.” designed for students in their third or fourth year of The program, which completed its third year, was college who are preparing to apply to law school. The established by Law Center Dean Leonard M. Baynes and Scholar II track focuses on building a strong law school Program Manager Kristen Guiseppi. The eight-week application. The curriculum consists of eight weeks of LSAT summer course is designed to increase diversity among preparation, résumé and personal statement workshops, law school applicants and to provide students from and follow-up one-on-one sessions. It is recommended underrepresented backgrounds an opportunity to consider that students participate in both tracks to maximize their law school seriously. The 2017 class marked the highest potential in the program. attendance in the program’s brief history. “As a Scholar II student, we participated in a comprehensive “It is quite fitting that trailblazing was the theme for this LSAT focused curriculum,” said Divine Collins, a student at year’s ceremony,” Guiseppi said. “In many ways, these Spelman. “We developed a strong foundation of LSAT basics students have shown themselves to be trendsetters and during the first few weeks, and we built upon them during have demonstrated the drive and grit to take on the role of the remainder of the program. Each student was assigned being leaders and future lawyers. These students are going mentors, current law school students and attorneys, who to make their mark on the world, and it was an absolute were able to advise us and provide important information pleasure being part of their genesis this summer. I anticipate about law school experiences. This is one of the many only great things from each and every one of them.” support systems that will remain in place for us when we The program divides students into two tracks: Scholar I and return to our homes and colleges. Scholar II. Participants came from universities around the country, Nineteen students participated in the program’s Scholar with two previous Scholar I students returning to bolster I track, which is designed for students in their first two their law school applications in the Scholar II track.

22 Briefcase 2018 AUGUST

Japanese Garden Hermann Park Conservancy Houston Food Bank packaging area

UHLC FIRST-YEAR STUDENTS INTRODUCED TO LEGAL COMMUNITY WITH SERVICE PROJECTS Before cracking their textbooks and attending courses, University of Houston Law Center 1L students began the fall semester with acts of generosity. The volunteering initiative, started by Dean Leonard M. Baynes, is intended to set a good example for Law Center students entering the legal profession in terms of providing support to the community. Entering students and faculty participated in a number of community service programs spread over three days. Twenty students spent time assisting volunteer attorneys at a naturalization workshop at the Ripley House Center. About 10 students joined Houston Volunteer Lawyers for the Houston Bar Association’s Veteran’s Clinic at the Michael E. DeBakey Veterans Affairs Medical Center, where they had an opportunity to sit in on meetings with veterans seeking legal advice. The following day, Law Center students and faculty spread throughout Houston for four separate initiatives. About 25 students went to the Houston Volunteer Lawyers Legal Clinic in the Third Ward to assist citizens in need and those who cannot afford legal representation. Twenty volunteers assisted with mulching, making beds for planting and weeding at the Beauty’s Community Garden in Independence Heights. Beauty’s Community Garden is a community beacon that has been a consistent source of health and wellness for residents who need it the most. In a neighborhood that is a food desert, the garden is and has been a historically natural source of healthy vegetables and a site for mentorship and educational programs. More volunteers got their hands dirty when 40 students lent a helping hand at the Japanese Garden Hermann Park Conservancy. The final event at the Houston Food Bank drew nearly 150 students who spent the afternoon preparing packages for those in need. law.uh.edu 23 HURRICANE HARVEY LAW CENTER COMMUNITY SERVICE

When Hurricane Harvey slammed into the Texas coast on Aug. 25, 2017, no one predicted the historic amount of rain and flooding that would devastate the greater Houston area in its wake, leaving one-third of Harris County underwater. Damage estimates make Harvey the most costly natural disaster in U.S. history. Houstonians took to their boats and high-water vehicles to rescue those threatened by rising water. Volunteers and financial aid poured in from across the country, and many members of the University of Houston Law Center community were among those who pitched in to do what they could. While the Law Center quickly remediated water intrusion, a number of students, faculty and staff were affected with flooded homes and cars and damaged personal property. Classes were canceled for 10 days as flood victims coped, and recovery began. The following is a compilation of stories detailing some of the efforts undertaken by Law Center volunteers to help others as well as their own.

UH Law Center re-opens, reaches out to community in aftermath “My heart goes out to our whole community. It may take time for us to of Hurricane Harvey recover some sense of normalcy. At times like these, it is important for us to be kind and patient with each other and focus on the bonds that bring University of Houston Law Center students and professors returned to us together. We are all Houstonians, and we all love UHLC,” Baynes added. the classroom on Sept. 5, but continued to help classmates and other flood victims struggling to deal with the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey. As students recounted their stories from the storm, many expressed gratitude for emerging from Harvey with minimal to no property damage. The Law Center sustained minor water intrusion during Hurricane Harvey, and the University of Houston was closed for one week. But not all students were as lucky. John Hebert, a first-year-student, recounted how water breached his family’s home in Pasadena. “I’m very happy to welcome students, faculty and staff back to the Law Center and provide nourishment to them,” said Dean Leonard M. Baynes “It was chaos. We put all of our sheets and linens against the door because during a back-to-school breakfast. “Classes have resumed without a hitch, water was already coming in through the back of the house,” he said. “We and no mere hurricane is going to stop the Law Center’s mission. We are basically tried to make a barricade, but it seeped through the bottom. here for all of you and welcome you with open arms.” The water eventually got about ankle-high. I’ve seen it flood in Pasadena before, but never like that.” Students, faculty and staff were welcomed back with comfort food like doughnuts and pizza. The Law Center established a Harvey Resource Page on its website.

24 Briefcase 2018 UH Law Center Young Alumni Committee members assist with Hurricane Harvey cleanup.

Faculty, staff, and students completed surveys to assess Harvey’s impact. UHLC Professor Chase co-chairs Harvey relief fund advisory Every student, full-time faculty and staff member were accounted for after committee the storm. University of Houston Law Center Associate “I would not feel comfortable until I knew that all the students were safe,” Professor Anthony R. Chase was named said Sondra R. Tennessee, associate dean of Student Affairs. co-chair of the advisory committee of the According to the surveys, most Law Center students were not impacted by Hurricane Harvey Relief Fund in September Harvey, but 23 percent reported minor losses and three percent suffered to ensure there is a process to determine the major damages. The survey indicated that 73 percent of students sheltered needs of flood victims that are not met by in place, and 27 percent evacuated their dwellings. Tony Chase other sources. Clinical Associate Professor Geoffrey Hoffman, director of the Law The fund was established by Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner and Center’s Immigration Clinic, led several volunteering efforts assisting Harris County Judge Ed Emmett. The Greater Houston Community flood victims with pressing legal questions. Foundation will oversee and administer the grant distribution process. The 10-member advisory committee will approve funding for various “The most urgent needs are going to be lost documentation like a green purposes, including shelter and temporary housing needs, food and card or work authorization,” Hoffman said. “Another urgent need is if supplies, healthcare, transportation, child care, facility needs of child care somebody is undocumented and they may be afraid of deportation and and social service agencies, and others. how to deal with those issues. We’re also trying to direct immigrants to FEMA and determine if they’re eligible or not.” “The mayor and county judge partnered to create the Hurricane Harvey Relief Fund to provide short, medium, and longer-term recovery assistance,” Students, faculty and staff volunteered at the George R. Brown said Chase, chairman and CEO of Chase Source who teaches Contracts, Convention Center in partnership with the Tahirih Justice Center. They Communications Law, Entrepreneurship and Race & American Law. later helped evacuees at the NRG Center where Hoffman volunteered alongside Baynes, Janet Beck, a visiting clinical assistant professor at the “The resources, consistent with previous natural disasters, will be directed to Immigration Clinic, and Lone Star Legal Aid. non-profit organizations with strong capacity and successful track records in helping individuals and families rebuild their lives. Together with the “Lawyers are presented with many opportunities, and it is important for other board members I’m excited to roll up my sleeves and get to work.” us to give back. We set the standard of leadership in our communities,” said Baynes, “At times like this, it is ever so important for attorneys to In announcing the appointment of Chase and Bill Jackson, Harris County reach out to serve their communities. It is a blessing that the Law Center is Budget Officer, to lead the advisory committee, Stephen Maislin, CEO able to provide service to the greater Houston community during this time of the Greater Houston Community Foundation, said, “The Hurricane of need.” Harvey Relief Fund is vital to the recovery efforts and will fill gaps where federal and state funding will not. In other words, many of these funds will law.uh.edu 25 UH Law Center Young Alumni Committee members work on flood cut and drywall removal in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey. UH Law Center Young Alumni Committee members volunteered to help many Hurricane Harvey victims. go directly to support immediate needs in our city.” assistance to disaster victims,” she said. The GHCF, with more than $640 million in assets, is one of Houston’s Additional speakers included Saundra Brown, managing attorney of largest grant makers and provides individuals, families, corporations, Lone Star Legal Aid’s Disaster Relief Unit, and Martin Mayo of Martin foundations, and advisors with the ability to maximize its philanthropic L. Mayo & Associates, who specializes in weather-related insurance impact. claims and lawsuits.

ABA President Bass visits UHLC to observe post-Harvey legal ‘People’s Law School’ focuses curriculum volunteering efforts on Harvey-related issues Hilarie Bass, president of the American The University of Houston Law Center Bar Association, came to the University hosted a special session of the “People’s of Houston Law Center in September Law School” in October that was a bit more to oversee and assist in the training of somber than usual, focusing on the many legal volunteer lawyers in the aftermath of issues faced by victims of Hurricane Harvey. Richard M. Alderman Hurricane Harvey. “This program is a little different from the Her remarks were part of a program, ones we have done in the past,” said Professor Emeritus Richard M. “FEMA and Beyond: Hurricane Harvey Alderman, who for years has led the program to inform people of their Richard McElvaney and Hilarie Bass Legal Issues,” presented by Lone Star basic legal rights. “It is usually a fun and upbeat event. People are usually Legal Aid and sponsored by the Law Center’s Center for Consumer here because it provides information on something interesting for them to Law and the school’s clinical programs. Volunteers were provided with know. However, the main point of this program is a little more serious. information about FEMA and other legal issues related to Hurricane “Harvey was a devastating event and most of the participants are here Harvey. because of it. It not only destroyed property, it has disrupted your lives, “Through its young lawyers division, the ABA has a contract with FEMA and it is going to have long-term consequences. to provide disaster legal services,” Bass said. “The ABA has been on the “One of the best ways to deal with all of this is knowing your legal rights. ground after all the disasters have taken place. It’s critical that people who You do have legal rights, and a lot of them you can deal with yourself,” he need assistance get it. Much of what’s being done by the American Bar assured participants gathered in Krost Hall before heading off to “classes” Association is to provide volunteer lawyers who give free legal advice to taught by volunteer judges, lawyers and law professors. In addition, a victims of a hurricane. number of attorneys and FEMA representatives were on hand to meet “It was great to see law students who are all volunteering to help provide individually with people needing specific assistance.

26 Briefcase 2018 UH Law Center Young Alumni Committee members work on flood cut and drywall removal in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey. UH Law Center Young Alumni Committee members volunteered to help many Hurricane Harvey victims.

Subjects covered a wide range of storm-related issues facing heavy financial, physical and emotional impact on our friends and family homeowners, tenants and businesses, including insurance coverage, in the Houston community and in our school. We cannot express enough FEMA qualifications, landlord/tenant disputes, contracts, price gouging gratitude for the financial and moral support we have received in the wake and scams. of this disaster.” Normally, the volunteer teachers field questions in various areas of the Relief money will be distributed to students based on need by the Law law, including business law, criminal law, credit and debt collection, wills Center’s Scholarship Committee. and estates, health law, and landlord tenant law. “The overwhelming response speaks to the generosity and camaraderie Hosted by UHLC’s Center for Consumer Law, which Alderman continues of fellow law students,” said Associate Dean for Student Affairs Sondra to serve as director, the free, biannual program is sponsored by the R. Tennessee. “The money will help those struggling to recover Houston Lawyer Referral Service. The “People’s Law School” is the oldest financially from the loss of cars, laptops, personal property, and, in and most successful program of its kind in the nation, having taught more some cases, damage to their homes. The heartfelt words of support were than 55,000 people over the years. equally meaningful.”

Law students from across the country step up to support UHLC victims of Hurricane Harvey Law students, far from the destruction and misery of Hurricane Harvey, came to the aid of their fellow students at the University of Houston Law Center in November with financial and moral support to help in their recovery. Students at the University of Alabama School of Law, Albany Law School, and Syracuse University College of Law combined to match the nearly $1,500 raised by Law Center students to help classmates affected by the widespread flooding caused by the late August storm. Student representatives from more than 20 other law schools offered words of encouragement in solidarity with Law Center students. “The outpouring of support from our colleagues at law schools around the country has been both uplifting and awe-inspiring,” said Reed Fryar 2L, president of the UHLC Student Bar Association. “Hurricane Harvey left a

law.uh.edu 27 SEPTEMBER

DIVERSITY MAGAZINE RECOGNIZES UH LAW CENTER UHLC was selected for its numerous diversity initiatives, including the FOR SECOND YEAR IN A ROW Pre-Law Pipeline Program. The program, which recently completed its third year, was designed to prepare undergraduate students who are first The University of Houston generation, low income or members of groups underrepresented in the legal Law Center is among five profession for a career in law. law schools nationwide recognized for outstanding “Many thanks to INSIGHT Into Diversity for recognizing the UHLC commitment to diversity and and its efforts,” said Program Manager Kristen Guiseppi. “It is such inclusion by INSIGHT Into an honor for us to receive this prestigious award for a second time. Diversity magazine. It marks Diversity is such an important topic, and I am happy that we are able the second straight year that to continue furthering the discussion, and fostering a culture where the Law Center has received diversity is recognized and celebrated.” this recognition. The Law Center and the University of Houston were among 85 recipients TEXAS SUPREME COURT CONDUCTS ORAL ARGUMENTS of the 2017 Higher Education Excellence in Diversity Award — the only AT UH LAW CENTER national award honoring institutions for their efforts on behalf of diversity. The Supreme Court of Texas convened at the University of Houston Law INSIGHT Into Diversity is the oldest and largest diversity-focused Center’s Krost Hall to hear oral arguments in two cases involving parental publication in higher education. rights and mandatory arbitration. “It is a humbling experience for the Law Center to be recognized two years “It was a special day for the Law Center, and we were delighted to have the in a row,” said Dean Leonard M. Baynes. “It shows that the Law Center’s Texas Supreme Court here,” said Dean Leonard M. Baynes. “It gave our considerable efforts at diversity and inclusion are garnering notice. But students a chance to see great lawyering and well-prepared and thoughtful most importantly, it is satisfying that our programs are having an impact in judges. It was a tonic after Hurricane Harvey for so many of us that we’re everyday people’s lives.” moving forward.” Institutions were selected for the HEED Award based on their initiatives In the 19th century, when Texas first entered the Union, the state Supreme that embrace all aspects of diversity, including gender, race, ethnicity, Court was required to sit only in the city of Austin. Occasionally, the veterans, people with disabilities, and members of the LGBTQ community. Constitution would change to allow the court to sit elsewhere in Texas, but Award recipients for 2017 include community colleges, public and private it wasn’t until the 1990s that an amendment passed in the legislature that schools, baccalaureate-granting institutions, graduate schools, and one allowed the court to sit anywhere in the state anytime it chooses. It marked the school system. first time in more than a decade that the court convened at the Law Center. “The HEED Award process consists of a comprehensive and rigorous “The court was pleased to hear oral arguments at the University of application that includes questions relating to the recruitment and Houston Law Center,” said Chief Justice Nathan L. Hecht. “We’ve had retention of students and employees — and best practices for both — Law Center alums over the years serve on the court, like my good friend continued leadership support for diversity, and other aspects of campus Raul Gonzalez who is now retired, and Justice Jeff Brown now. Justice diversity and inclusion,” said Lenore Pearlstein, publisher of INSIGHT Eva Guzman is a University of Houston graduate and honorary Law Into Diversity magazine. Center alum, and former Blakely Advocacy Institute adjunct professor. We

Texas Supreme Court with UH Law Center students 28 Briefcase 2018 consider this to be a strong school for Texas. them better serve their pro bono clients. “I hope law students who attended will see that the third branch of While the main thrust of the day-long program was asylum, primarily for government does business differently from the other two. It’s very families and children, a special focus this year was placed on challenges deliberative; it’s very orderly, thoughtful, honest and provocative. The judges immigrants face in the wake of Hurricane Harvey. ask hard questions, and the lawyers need to give straight answers. The cases “We have all been through Harvey,” Clinical Associate Professor Geoffrey are hard and close, and most of the time there is no one right answer. I hope A. Hoffman, director of the Law Center’s Immigration Clinic, said in the people see that this is a place where you’re going to be treated fairly.” opening segment. “Imagine if you are an immigrant, undocumented, DACA, The Court heard oral arguments on two cases on appeal from the Fourth and your documents were lost.” Court of Appeals in San Antonio. He said he researched FEMA eligibility requirements while volunteering to The first case involved a couple dealing with drug and neglect issues who help immigrant flood victims who had taken refuge at the George R. Brown voluntarily relinquished parental rights to their daughter. While a state Convention Center. Benefits are available to non-U.S. citizens, depending district judge found that was in the child’s “best interest,” the appellate court on their legal status, he said, including those holding green cards, those ruled “best interest” had not been proved. granted asylum or admitted as refugees, victims of domestic violence with The second case was a challenge by payday loan borrowers to mandatory pending petitions, and others. arbitration of complaints under terms of loan agreements with the lender, “FEMA is under DHS (the Department of Homeland Security),” he reminded Cash Biz. The borrowers contend the arbitration agreement had been audience members. “So there is a risk in applying.” He urged them to make waived because the lender had involved the judicial process by filing sure their client’s status is clear before applying for federal aid, help in criminal bad check charges, resulting in borrowers paying heavy fines and replacing lost documents, and other immigration relief. even serving jail sentences. In welcoming remarks, Hoffman defined asylum as protection for those who are unable to return to their countries of origin due to past persecution or SONDOCK JURIST-IN-RESIDENCE, NY APPELLATE JUDGE, a well-founded fear of persecution on account of race, religion, nationality, SEES RENEWED INTEREST IN COURT SYSTEM membership in a particular social group or political opinion. Judge Jenny Rivera of the New York “A lot of what you learn here today will make you a better lawyer,” he said, State Court of Appeals provided an while urging attorneys to work pro bono for those needing help. “It is a lot overview of how the court functions of work, and it takes a long time, but it’s worth it, and this workshop will at the Justice Ruby Kless Sondock hone your skills.” Jurist-In-Residence Program at the In a presentation she dubbed “Asylum 101,” Josephine Sorgwe, a clinical University of Houston Law Center. supervising attorney at the Law Center’s Immigration Clinic, detailed two “With the recent changes in our visas potentially available to those seeking refuge. national government, the appointment The U-Visa provides asylum to those who are in danger of substantial Judge Jenny Rivera and of Supreme Court Justice Neil Justice Ruby Kless Sondock physical or mental abuse as the result of being the victim of a crime or Gorsuch and the filling of vacancies in having knowledge of criminal activity. The key word to eligibility, she the federal judiciary, there has been a reinvigorated discussion of the role of said, is “substantial,” including being helpful to ongoing law enforcement state courts and protecting individual rights and ensuring access to justice,” investigations. Rivera said in her lecture on Sept. 18. Victims of trafficking who can demonstrate they were subject to “severe force” The New York Court of Appeals is the highest court in the state of New in being brought to the U.S. for sex or other purposes can apply for a T-Visa. York. Rivera, an associate judge, was nominated by New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Jan. 15, 2013. The New York State Senate confirmed her Successful applicants are given work permits, allowed to stay in the country appointment on Feb. 11, 2013. for four years and may apply for reevaluation of their status after three years. In addition, victims of domestic violence can file for protection under the Rivera is one of two Latinos on the court, which includes three women Violence Against Women Act. justices, an African-American man, and the first openly gay member. “People are not aware that they may qualify for one of these visas,” Sorgwe “Our court is quite diverse in professional experience, personal background said, adding that the Immigration Clinic conducts informational sessions and geographic representation,” Rivera said. “Our chief judge, Janet DiFiore, throughout the community. is the second female chief judge of the court and a former district attorney. Each of us brings an interesting perspective to our work.” Janet Beck, a visiting clinical assistant professor in the Immigration Clinic, discussed immigrant juveniles who arrive unaccompanied at the border seeking admittance. She said they must show why they are leaving their IMMIGRATION ADVOCATES LEARN BASICS OF ASYLUM country, whether they are fleeing danger or exploitation, joining family, LAW IN ANNUAL VAIL WORKSHOP AT UHLC or escaping abuse, neglect or abandonment. They are taken into federal The University of Houston Law Center hosted the annual Joseph custody, but have no right to appointed counsel. Beck said they may apply A. Vail Asylum Law Workshop to educate immigration lawyers and for asylum or, in some cases, Special Immigrant Juvenile Status if they have advocates on current issues and provide practical information to help been abused, abandoned or neglected by one or both parents. law.uh.edu 29 OCTOBER

between law and theology. “I’ve noticed a common theme in multiple passages — some in Deuteronomy, some in Leviticus, some in Numbers — a provision for the hungry,” Buckles said. “Special treatment of the vulnerable, including immigrants, pervades the law.” Nelson pointed to contrasts between law and religion, referencing the 1971 Supreme Court Case, Lemon v. Kurtzman. In an 8-1 decision, the Court ruled that for a law to be considered constitutional under the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment, it must be nonreligious. “All government acts must have a secular purpose,” he said. “Government acts must be supported by reasons that are not fundamentally religious or theological in nature. This basic fundamental constitutional principle comes UH Law Center and Anti-Defamation League speakers to us from the famous Lemon case and the first part of the Lemon test.” UHLC & ADL ANALYZE INTERSECTION OF FAITH, LAW, IMMIGRATION, AND PUBLIC POLICY UHLC ALUMNI GO BACK TO SCHOOL FOR REUNION WEEKEND 2017 The University of Houston Law Center and the Anti-Defamation League co-sponsored “The Effects of Immigration on America’s Local Alumni made their way back to the classroom with Professor David Dow Communities,” an event consisting of three panel discussions that focused and Professor Emeritus Jacqueline Weaver during Reunion Weekend at the on interplay between religious scripture, law, and public immigration policy University of Houston Law Center. in Krost Hall. Weaver, an internationally known scholar in oil and gas law and energy “When I think of the Anti-Defamation League, I think of a great civil law, delivered a presentation titled, “Role of the Regulator: Reflections on rights organization and its message of standing up to hate is so pure,” Dean Forty Years of Research and Learning About Energy, Economics & the Leonard M. Baynes said. “The Law Center has a long relationship with Environment.” the Anti-Defamation League. One of our most prominent grads, Marvin She said regulators need to set the standards of the industry and must Nathan is the national chair. He sponsors fellowships every year where Law be able to assess those standards before adopting them in regulations or Center students get to work at his great organization.” guidelines. Despite no recent major accidents in the oil and gas industry, Marvin Nathan, a 1966 alumnus of the Law Center, illustrated how the Weaver said regulators must hold the industry accountable to maintain ADL’s message still rings true and referenced violent white supremacist safety. demonstrations that occurred Aug. 11-12 in Charlottesville, Va., where one “After 40 years of my research, I basically decided the theme of it has been counter-protester was killed. “I’m forever grateful to the Law Center for educating me, enhancing my legal skills and making me a lawyer that is always engaged in what is equal justice and what is wrong,” Nathan said. “It’s a privilege to be here, and I’d like to thank the Law Center for helping the ADL host this event and applaud its integrity and credibility.” The first discussion provided a current overview of immigration and featured Geoffrey A. Hoffman, a clinical associate professor and director of the Law Center’s Immigration Clinic. Hoffman discussed how immigration laws tend to be altered frequently. “A quote from (philosopher) Meister Eckhart I like to use is, ‘be willing to be a beginner every single day,’” Hoffman said. “Practicing immigration law can make you feel like a beginner every day. It’s changing on a daily basis, and it’s a very fast-paced practice for my students and I.” The next panel, titled: “Law, Religion and Public Policies,” included Law Center Professors Johnny R. Buckles and James D. Nelson. Buckles pointed to certain books in the Bible that show a complex history Reunion Weekend 2017

30 Briefcase 2018 a good regulator is industry’s best friend,” she said. “If regulators do not act, the spirit of courtroom debate should remain competitive. litigation, I assure you, will fill the gap. “Civility is not liking opposing counsel or agreeing with everything that “Ultimately, the regulator’s goal is to combat industry’s inevitable sense of opposing counsel or the judge says,” Ross said. “I don’t like when attorneys complacency, and to force continuous improvement on the entire industry say to me, ‘Judge, I really hate to disagree with opposing counsel, but that’s as increasingly complex technology and procedures advance,” she said. not really the law.’ Weaver taught at the Law Center for 39 years and retired at the conclusion “Don’t hate to disagree. This is an adversarial process. It’s not about of the 2016 fall semester. agreeing on everything, it’s about showing respect.” Dow provided a primer on death penalty cases. Dow, the Law Center’s Cullen Professor of Law and a capital defense attorney, is the founder of ENGRAVINGS IN O’QUINN LIBRARY REDEDICATED the Texas Innocence Network, which was established in 2000. In 2014, the TO FORMER UHLC DEAN AND PROFESSOR STEPHEN Texas Innocence Network incorporated the Juvenile & Capital Advocacy ZAMORA Project, which seeks to reduce juvenile delinquency and improve life outcomes for economically and socially disadvantaged youth through the provision of legal, educational and social support services. He gave an overview of recent developments in death penalty law, with special attention to Texas. He discussed what differentiates Texas from other states that practice capital punishment, including how juries are asked to foresee if a person would be a threat to the public if he or she isn’t sentenced to death. “Texas is in a league of its own when it comes to deciding whether someone’s going to be sentenced to death,” Dow said. “What’s peculiar about Texas as compared to every other state that has the death penalty, is that the decision whether to sentence someone to death is not based on the facts of the crime itself. It’s instead based on the jury’s prediction about what’s going to happen in the future if the person isn’t executed.”

SONDOCK JURIST-IN-RESIDENCE SPEAKER, ELEANOR Professor Emerita Laura E. Oren, Camille Zamora, Dean Leonard M. Baynes, and Lois Zamora ROSS ’94, EMPHASIZES NEED FOR CIVILITY IN LEGAL Colleagues, friends and family members celebrated the life of former PROFESSION University of Houston Law Center Dean and Professor Stephen Zamora Judge Eleanor Ross of the United States District Court for the Northern at a ceremony in O’Quinn Library. District of Georgia said attorneys must practice a code of respect when A set of 10 copperplate engravings from the “1742 Atlas Coelestis” by deliberating in the courtroom during her lecture as part of the Justice Johann Gabriel Doppelmayr were donated to the Law Center in 1998 Ruby Kless Sondock Jurist-In-Residence Program at the University of by Jan and Suzanne Baker, 1973 Law Center alumni. Doppelmayr was a Houston Law Center. prominent 18th century astronomer, mathematician and cartographer. Ross, a 1994 graduate of the Law Center, noted that she has seen The plates were rededicated in Zamora’s memory and in recognition of occasional instances of attorneys displaying a lack of civility. his many contributions to the Law Center. “In my mind, the courtroom is sacred ground,” Ross said. “Over the years I “These engravings are astronomical maps of the world,” Dean Leonard have developed a strong opinion that there are certain things you dare not M. Baynes said. “It’s such a fitting tribute that these maps are dedicated do, say or wear in a courtroom. The decline in civility that I have seen in to Professor Zamora, given his emphasis on globalism, NAFTA and Latin the cases that have been handled before me have been very disheartening.” America.” Ross said she has not seen egregious behavior in her courtroom, but Zamora, who retired in 2014 after 36 years in the classroom, died in an increase in condescension, sarcasm, and other forms of demeaning Mexico City on July 8, 2016 at the age of 72. Zamora joined the Law behavior by attorneys. Center faculty in 1978, and served as the Law Center’s dean from 1995 to 2000. He founded and continued to direct the Center for U.S. and “Key elements of civility include dialogue, respectful communication, and Mexican Law at the law school, served as director of the North American informed public decision-making,” she said. “The short definition that I Consortium on Legal Education, and as an advisor to the Houston Journal often use is a code of respectful behavior within the legal community. of International Law. “I like to distinguish civility from the broader category professionalism. He is survived by his widow, Lois Zamora, a University of Houston Professionalism encompasses so much like competency, remaining English professor; a son, Peter Zamora, his wife Marcela; a daughter, knowledgeable about the laws and the rules governing the practice of law Camille Zamora, and her husband Thomas; grandsons Landon and Nate, and the judgment you use. Civility is a component within professionalism and siblings Carol, Mary, Anita, John, Paula, and Tony; and many nephews, — that component deals specifically with the interaction of the players nieces, cousins, aunts, in-laws, and friends. Lois and Camille Zamora involved in the legal process.” attended the ceremony. Ross noted that while lawyers should always maintain proper behavior, law.uh.edu 31 NOVEMBER

said. “I don’t care how extreme your situation is, and it might not always be easy, but with a plan, with priorities, with publicizing and persisting, if you keep on, you will achieve your goals.” Assistant Dean for Admissions Pilar Mensah introduced students to the benefits of DiscoverLaw.org, a website hosted by the Law School Admission Council that encourages racially and ethnically diverse students to discover career opportunities in law and choose a path in undergraduate school to help them succeed. An alumni panel discussed the versatility of a law degree and featured Monica Mensah ’14, director of student advisement at the Law Center, Abby Kotun ’13, an associate at Haynes and Boone, LLP, immigration attorney Luis Ruiz ’14 and Alissa Gipson ’16, an associate at Chamberlain Hrdlicka. Dean Leonard M. Baynes Students also heard from Tiffany Tucker, assistant dean for UHLC DEAN BAYNES DISCUSSES PLANS FOR NEW Career Development, who stressed the significance of maintaining BUILDING, FACILITY UPGRADES WITH STUDENTS professionalism. Tucker encouraged students to display civility in University of Houston Law Center Dean Leonard M. Baynes provided email and other online communications as well as during telephone an update on plans for a new law school building and mentioned calls and on-campus visits. upcoming facility upgrades at his biannual, “Discussion with the Students also participated in a mock Constitutional Law class taught Dean.” by Professor Ron Turner and a question-and-answer session with “We are moving forward with a new building,” Baynes said. “It will current students. be a major objective for the next legislative session. We have made The high school students came from Atascocita High School, Carl progress, with the Cornerstone Club donations serving almost as a Wunsche Sr. High School, Coldspring-Oakhurst High School, Elsik ‘down payment’ when we ask the state legislature for money in the High School, Harmony School of Discovery, Memorial High School, 2019 legislative session.” Northbrook High School, The Pro-Vision Academy, Ridge Point High Baynes also mentioned the opening of a C-Store in the space that School, Spring Woods High School, Stratford High School, and YES was formerly a Subway. The store is similar to the location in the UH Prep High School. Student Center and offers a variety of menu items, snacks and other Discover Law Day concluded with current college students learning provisions. about law school admission and the Law Center’s Pre-Law Pipeline “We want our students to be as comfortable as possible,” Baynes said. Program. “The C-Store will be very interesting and revolutionary in that it will be partially automated. There will be someone there during the day, FRANKEL LECTURE FOCUSES ON INCOMPETENT but it will be automated at night for our evening students who want to DEFENSE IN DEATH PENALTY CASES grab a cookie, coffee or whatever they want.” A capital punishment scholar blames DISCOVER LAW DAY 2017 OPENS WINDOW TO LEGAL inattentive defense EDUCATION FOR HIGH SCHOOL, COLLEGE STUDENTS attorneys and hard- High school and college students from Houston and the surrounding charging prosecutors for area visited the University of Houston Law Center for Discover Law widespread inequities Day. in the criminal justice system, especially capital Associate Dean for Student Affairs Sondra Tennessee welcomed the cases. students and shared her four Ps to success: plan, prioritize, publicize and persist. Stephen B. Bright, a professor of practice “The type of job you really want to think about is what you’re good at, at the Georgia State what you like to do and what somebody will pay you to do,” Tennessee Stephen B. Bright College of Law who also

32 Briefcase 2018 teaches at Georgetown and Yale law schools, was the keynote speaker JUNIOR HIGH STUDENTS PLEDGE TO COMBAT at the Houston Law Review’s 22nd Annual Frankel Lecture. BULLYING DURING ADL YOUTH SUMMIT AT UHLC During his lecture titled: “The Right to Counsel in Texas Capital More than 300 middle school students and 60 educators from Punishment Cases and Related Issues,” Bright referenced Texas, and eight school districts and 32 schools vowed to take a stand against Harris County in particular, as the national leaders in executions. intolerance at the 2017 Beau and Abe Merfish No Place For Hate He said the legal profession cannot tolerate incompetence in Youth Summit at the University of Houston Law Center. It marked the criminal cases, especially in cases where execution is a potential second year that the ADL and Law Center joined forces to host this outcome. event. “A very large number of criminal cases have all the integrity of a “Hate is a destructive force and goes against our better nature as professional wrestling match,” Bright said. “That’s because they’re human beings,” Dayan Gross, regional director of the Anti-Defamation already rigged from the start because the person accused was not League Southwest Region, said in a statement. “Everyone should be adequately represented or was not represented at all by the lawyer treated fairly, equally and with respect, irrespective of their gender, assigned to defend that person. religion, race, immigrant status or sexual orientation. “Progress has been made, but a lot more progress has to be made. “In today’s climate of escalating level of hate towards minorities, ADL For those of you in law school and are going to be lawyers, you are plays a critical role where students and teachers can envision a more going to have a monopoly on legal services, and you have a moral respectful America and break down stereotypes before they become a responsibility to make this system work.” source of hatred.” Additional commentators were Jordan M. Steiker, a law professor “I am proud of the Law Center for being able to host this event for the and director of the Capital Punishment Center at The University of second straight year and spread the important message of standing up Texas School of Law, and Lise Olsen, a deputy investigations editor to hate,” Dean Leonard M. Baynes said. “The Law Center embraces all and senior investigative reporter at the Houston Chronicle. aspects of diversity, and bullying and prejudices go against the values bestowed upon the legal profession.” After an introduction in Krost Hall, students broke into groups throughout the Law Center to further develop skills to identify and interrupt bullying on their respective campuses.

Middle school students attend No Place for Hate Youth Summit in Krost Hall. DECEMBER

UHLC HONORS PROFESSORSHIP DONORS AT PLAQUE betterment of our systems of forensic science and our legal system,” UNVEILING CEREMONY Thompson added. Alumni and friends of the University The opening speaker was Casarez, chair of the board of directors at the of Houston Law Center who have Houston Forensic Science Center, which is Houston’s independent forensic helped fund a number of named laboratory. She discussed the progress the center has made, including its professorships were recognized with efforts to battle wrongful convictions. donor plaques at a presentation at the The second topic focused on the role of prosecutors in uncovering wrongful Law Center. The new plaques can be convictions. The speaker was Inger Chandler, the former chief of the found in the breezeway between the Conviction Integrity Unit of the Harris County District Attorney’s Office. Professorship Donors’ Wall Blakely Advocacy Institute and the Dean’s Suite. The third topic, “Investigating Past Convictions to Redress Wrongful Convictions Due to Unreliable Forensic Evidence,” was led by Robert “I recognize how important it is to show gratitude for those who have made Wicoff, chief of the Appellate Division of the Harris County Public a significant difference in the life of the Law Center,” Dean Leonard M. Defender’s Office.” Baynes said in his welcoming remarks. “A number of alumni and friends of UHLC provided funding for six named professorships. These professorships Lastly, the Honorable Judge Barbara Hervey addressed the role of the Texas are crucial for the Law Center to recruit and retain our very talented faculty. Criminal Justice Integrity Unit in providing leadership on statewide efforts The faculty are the life blood of the institution by teaching our students how to correct wrongful convictions caused by unreliable forensic evidence, to be lawyers. as well as in providing educational programs. Hervey serves on the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals. “The Law Center is forever grateful for the generosity of these donors who have invested in our faculty so they can continue to be excellent teachers and The visit was sponsored by the Kazakh Ministry of Justice and the scholars. These professorships are really important to our faculty. It gives World Bank. them an honorary named professorship that lets people know that they are held in very high esteem in the profession.” ASTROS GENERAL COUNSEL TOUTS ECONOMIC BENEFITS OF WORLD SERIES WIN DURING UHLC PANEL Honored contributors of the following professorships are: The positive effects of Houston Andrews Kurth LLP (Professor Craig Joyce), Mike & Teresa Baker (Professor ending its championship drought Emeritus Jordan Paust), Beirne, Maynard & Parsons, L.L.P. (Professor Doug in professional sports, among other Moll), Houston Intellectual Property Law Association (Associate Dean sports-related topics, were discussed and Professor Greg Vetter), Law Center Alumnae & Friends — (Professor at a program titled, “Life After the Barbara Evans and Professor Sandra Guerra Thompson), and Leonard B. World Series: Impacts on Houston Rosenberg Family & Friends — (Professor Darren Bush) and the Greater Community” at the Baynes noted that the Houston Intellectual Property Law Association University of Houston Law Center. Professorship will eventually be renamed to honor Professor Paul Janicke, “One of the great things about the who once held the professorship. Law Center and the University of Houston is we can bring great CRIMINAL JUSTICE INSTITUTE HIGHLIGHTS speakers in to discuss topical issues,” ADVANCEMENTS IN FORENSIC SCIENCE TO Dean Leonard M. Baynes said in his KAZAKHSTANI DELEGATION AT UHLC welcoming remarks. “For many of us, Developments in criminal law were the focal point for the U.S.-Kazakhstan this year has been a year of ups and Roundtable Discussion on Texas Innovations in Forensic Sciences at the downs. We had Hurricane Harvey, University of Houston Law Center. which was a very difficult situation. Then we had the Astros winning a Opening remarks were delivered by Associate Dean Greg Vetter and world championship which made Professor Sandra Guerra Thompson, director of the Criminal Justice everyone excited and put Houston on Institute. the map.” “We in Houston as a city and at the Law Center are very, very proud of what The program began with a panel that Houston has done with forensic science,” Vetter said. “We’re particularly included Mark Arnold, a partner at proud of Professor Thompson’s role in transforming and improving Andrews Kurth Kenyon LLP, Law forensic science in Houston and also our visiting Professor (Nicole) Center Professor Tony Chase, and Casarez’s role as well.” Giles Kibbe, general counsel of the “We hope the discussion fostered an exciting dialogue for the mutual World Series trophy Houston Astros.

34 Briefcase 2018 Chase led off with comments about Texas’s ability to host major sporting Gender, and Sexuality Studies Program in the College of Liberal Arts and events. Social Sciences and treasurer for the American Academy of Law School’s “From an economic perspective, sports play a major role in our region,” he Section on Professional Responsibility. said. “It’s no mistake, for example, that there have been so many Final Fours She joined the faculty in 2016, after serving as the Foster Swift Professor of in Texas over the last 10 years.” Legal Ethics and co-director of the Kelley Institute of Ethics and the Legal Kibbe agreed with Chase and shared how the Astros’ season meant much Profession at Michigan State University College of Law, where she taught more for Houston than just team pride. for a decade. “Sports are extremely important to our city,” Kibbe said. “The numbers that Knake’s research primarily focuses on innovation in the regulation of legal came in after the World Series showed that we had $95 million of economic services, proposing access to justice reforms. She is an internationally impact from our playoffs. It was an average of about $6 to $8 million a game, recognized expert on the future of legal services, and has been invited to and the World Series was a little bit higher at $10 million. speak about the topic throughout the United States and internationally in countries such as Canada, England, Guatemala, Mexico, and the United “The Super Bowl brought in $300 million. Ninety percent of the World Arab Emirates. Series attendance was Houstonians, and the Super Bowl was basically the opposite. Only about 10 percent of Houstonians were at the Super Bowl, UHLC AWARDED GRANT TO SUPPORT SUMMER and it was a lot of hotel and restaurant revenue.” PRE-LAW PIPELINE PROGRAM Arnold, who has represented the Harris County-Houston Sports Authority The University of Houston Law Center received a $300,000 grant to in connection with the development of Minute Maid Park, NRG Stadium, support its successful, award-winning Pre-Law Pipeline Program which is Toyota Center and BBVA Compass Stadium, reflected on the growth in the designed to increase the number of lawyers from underrepresented groups area that surrounds the Astros’ home field. by introducing undergraduates to the demands of law school and the “Back in 1997, there was an unused train station and a bunch of train opportunities of a career in the law. tracks coming into Union Station,” Arnold said. “There is now significant The grant from the Law School Admission Council will allow the school development around Minute Maid Park like restaurants, apartments and to host 20 or 30 participants each summer for the next three years, paying high-rises going up. Some of that is a result of the Astros having 81 games, each student a stipend of $1,000. The funds will be used to cover the cost of plus other events. I think Jim Crane is doing a better job at promoting housing, meals, and course materials for our students as well as stipends for additional events at Minute Maid Park than the previous ownership did.” teaching faculty and assistants. For the second panel, Kibbe was joined by Walter Champion, an adjunct “The UHLC Pre-Law Pipeline Program is exceptional,” Dean Leonard professor at the Law Center and the George Foreman Professor of Sports M. Baynes said. “In just three years, it has made a difference in the lives of and Entertainment Law at Texas Southern University’s Thurgood Marshall many students, including 10 who are enrolled in law schools across the School of Law, and Karen Jones, a sports management professor at Rice country. The Law School Admission Council grant provides the “Good University. Housekeeping seal of approval” on what we all know to be a terrific A portion of the discussion centered on the rise of counterfeit merchandise program. that followed the Astros’ championship win. “The Law Center is honored to receive the $300,000 grant, which will help “Not only does it have a great impact on business around the city, it also us expand the pool of qualified law student applicants from all backgrounds has a big impact on possible business for attorneys,” Jones said. “Once you enrolling and graduating from law school. By working together, we can get all of this excitement around selling Astros paraphernalia, you also diversify the legal profession.” have an opportunity for lawsuits because a lot of people will start trying to During its first three years, 86 students participated in the Law Center’s misappropriate the team’s logo.” program. The 2017 session consisted of 46 students: 74 percent female, 39 Kibbe pointed to a number of local businesses that make reference to the percent black, 35 percent Hispanic, 13 percent Caucasian, 11 percent Asian/ Astros’ logo in their branding. He said the franchise is more concerned with Pacific Islander, and 2 percent Caribbean. people profiting on unsanctioned memorabilia. LSAC is a nonprofit corporation that provides products and services to ease “I don’t mind seeing businesses that have an Astros sign that they’re not the admission process for 221 member law schools and their applicants authorized to put up that congratulates us for winning the World Series,” he worldwide. The council is best known for administering the Law School said. “I think it’s great for us and great for the city. I have a problem when Admission Test. It also processes academic credentials for an average of people start selling unauthorized Astros merchandise. We have to stop that 60,000 law school applicants annually, provides software and information and protect our brand.” for admission offices and applicants, conducts educational conferences, and publishes LSAT preparation books and law school guides UHLC PROF. KNAKE JOINS PRESTIGIOUS AMERICAN “We consider LSAC PLUS programs to be an investment in the future of the LAW INSTITUTE diversity of the legal profession,” Kellye Testy, LSAC president and CEO, said Professor Renee Knake is the latest member of the University of Houston in announcing the award to UHLC and four other law schools. Law Center faculty to be elected to the American Law Institute. Knake Upon completing the program, participants also receive an LSAC fee waiver was one of 44 new members elected to the Institute, which comprises that can be used to cover the cost of taking the LSAT, all of their law school exceptional judges, lawyers and legal academics from all states and the application fees, and registering for LSAC’s Credential Assembly Service. District of Columbia, along with international members. “We are honored to have been awarded this prestigious and competitive “It is an incredible honor to be elected to the ALI, and I look forward to grant,” said Meredith J. Duncan, director of Metropolitan Programs and contributing to the organization’s efforts in improving the law,” Knake said. George Butler Research Professor of Law. “The $300,000 will move us Knake is the Larry and Joanne Doherty Chair in Legal Ethics and director closer to our goal of increasing diversity within the legal profession.” of Outcomes and Assessments. She also is a faculty affiliate of the Women’s, law.uh.edu 35 BRIEF MENTIONS The Power of Legal Education Take your legal career to the next level.

For more information about the UH Law Center LL.M. program, contact law.uh.edu/llm or contact us at [email protected]

LAW FUND UH LAW CENTER ADMISSIONS The Law Fund is the Law Center’s annual unrestricted Do you know someone who is interested in attending law school? giving program. The professional staff in the Office of Admissions is available to guide Gifts help increase student scholarships, recruit candidates through the application process. Tours and class visits are and retain distinguished faculty, provide nationally- also available by appointment. recognized programs, offer career development J.D. Deadlines: services, and build relationships with our alumni. *February 15 for full-time To give safely and securely online, visit May 15 for part-time law.uh.edu/giving. Call 713.743.2280 or email [email protected] to schedule an To make a recurring gift, or if you have any questions appointment. about the Law Fund, please contact: LL.M. Deadlines: Stephanie Johnson, associate director of development, April 15 — Fall Admission (Applicants with a Non-U.S. Law Degree) 713.743.3839 or [email protected]. June 1 — Fall Admission (U.S. Law Degree) Individuals who give a minimum of $2,500 in a calendar year are recognized as members of the Dean’s Society. November 15 — Spring Admission (U.S. Law Degree only) Contact [email protected] for more information. Applications received after the deadline will be reviewed on a space-available basis.

36 Briefcase 2018 PHOTO GALLERY ANNUAL GALA & AUCTION

L to R: William Jackson, Warren Harris, Michelle Gray, Michael Olivas, The Honorable Eva Guzman, The Honorable Randy Wilson, Greg King, Dean Leonard M. Baynes, Gary W. Orloff, Richard Whiteley, Judy Blissard, Warren Harris greets The Honorable Mary Bacon John Shely, Tom Hetherington, The Honorable Mary Bacon, Ricky A. Raven.

Dean Leonard M. Baynes, Tony Buzbee, Gala attendees enjoy mobile bidding on silent auction items. UH System Chancellor Renu Khator, Richard Whiteley For more information about the UH Law Center LL.M. program, contact law.uh.edu/llm or contact us at [email protected]

L to R: Sabra Thomas, Dean Leonard M. Baynes, David Rusk

2017 Gala Chairs Alex and Anne Roberts Richard and Laura Whiteley

law.uh.edu 37 Richard Whiteley ’99 with Cynthia Mabry ’10 with daughters Mary Dyer and Madeline Victor Wright ’98 daughters Katie and Allison

Professor Merle Morris ’92 and Kathleen Dawson, Carl Dawson ’91, Marilyn Sims ’91, Professor Luke Gilman ’10 Honorable Marcia Crone ’78, James Nelson, Seth Crone Dean Leonard M. Baynes HOLIDAY COFFEE HOLIDAY

Hon. Steven Kirkland ’90, Hon. John Coselli ’77, Renee Zimmerer, Gerald Zimmerer ’15, Garland McInnis ’74, Jr., Leah McInnis, Gail Shinbaum ’92, Bill Soffar ’69 Louis Islin ’04

UH LAW DEAN’S SOCIETY INVITES YOU! • Special Recognition in the Honor Roll of Donors, Law Center The Dean’s Society is an integral force behind the Power of Legal website and other publications. Education. The generous support of its members allows the Law • Access to Dean Baynes and input on the Law Center’s strategic Center to innovate and respond to emerging opportunities that will direction. help the Law Center continue rising and be the best. Dean’s Society members are recognized based on their giving This society honors and engages the most exclusive group of alumni level within the society. Membership ranges from a minimum and friends devoted to providing significant unrestricted support to annual gift of $2,500 to up to $24,999. *Young Alumni, or the Law Fund each year. graduates of the last 10 years, can join for $1,000. As members, Dean’s Society individuals enjoy benefits, including: Easily give online to “Dean’s Society” at https://giving.uh.edu/law/ • Reserved invitations to annual special dinners, receptions, or contact Stephanie Johnson, associate director of development, at lectures and other events. [email protected] or 713.743.3839.

38 Briefcase 2018 UNIVERSITY OF HOUSTON LAW CENTER AND UH LAW ALUMNI ASSOCIATION

2018 EVENTS ALUMNI-STUDENT Visit UH Law Center home page at CONNECTIONS www.law.uh.edu/calendar/event-calendar.asp. Law Center students are always thrilled to connect with our illustrious alumni! The Career Development Office offers numerous ways for alumni to engage with students to offer LAW BUILDING CAMPAIGN: MORE THAN BRICKS much needed advice and guidance. Get involved to positively impact The University of Houston Law Center is located in a world-class city in a top current Law Center students and legal market. The Law Center should be recognized as a world-class institution recent graduates through our with a building that reflects the caliber of students and faculty within. Our Upper Level Mentoring Program, vision is to create a new facility with cutting-edge technology that will galvanize Mock Interview Programs, Lunch student and faculty recruitment, increase engagement with industry, and better with a Lawyer series or our serve the community, leading to a surge in rankings and national prestige. Part-Time Partners initiative. To JOIN THE CAMPAIGN AND LEAVE YOUR LEGACY TODAY. learn more about these excellent opportunities to give back by Recognition and exclusive naming opportunities are available. sharing your experiences, contact the CDO at [email protected]. For more information, contact Magda Herrera, senior director of advancement, at [email protected] or 713.743.3719.

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